Yugioh ZEXAL: Another Number Hunter?
by Steakanator
Summary: We all know that Yuma and Astral supposedly collected all the Numbers, but where did they get some of them? Read on to learn about the man who tried to collect the numbers before them, and gain all the power for himself. Rated K plus due to fantasy violence and other potentially questionable scenes that may appear in the future.
1. Chapter 1

This story is based off the Yugioh Zexal dubbed anime. I created this to help explain where the other Numbers that weren't featured in the anime came from. Please note, this is strictly based off the anime, so things will almost definitely not line up with the manga. As new Numbers get released into the TCG, I'll be sure to update and add on to the story. With that in mind, please enjoy.

* * *

The sun was shining over Heartland High School, as the annual school-wide duel tournament was reaching its conclusion. The stands were packed, as students of all year levels were on the edges of their seats. The tournament had featured many of the school's top duelists, yet now only has two.

Elsworth Jewell came in as the underdog. Next year would be his last at the school, and he was hoping to make a solid statement at this tournament. He had on his school uniform, his third-year status causing him to wear a dark green tunic over his white shirt, with black pants. He kept his brown hair short, making his steel gaze that much more intimidating

His final opponent was a fourth year student, Claybourne, widely revered as the top duelist in the whole school. A very tall and muscular student, Claybourne was at the gym when he wasn't practicing dueling. He had on a blue tunic due to him being a fourth-year student. His mastery of Blue-Eyes made him a powerful duelist, with aspirations of going pro after graduation. This tournament would be the perfect way to exit his student life.

The duel, up to that point, had gone quite evenly. He had his Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the field, 3000 attack points in full force. He was down 2500 life points to 4000, but that was about to change. Elsworth had no cards on the field, and was wide open for a direct attack.

"And now," Claybourne said, pointing at Elsworth, "My Blue-Eyes attacks you directly! Go, White Lightning!"

Blue-Eyes opened its mouth, and a stream of brilliant white light escaped. It headed straight at Elsworth, who shielded his face and dropped to one knee. As the light receded, he slowly stood back up, his life points now at 1000.

"I place one card face down and end my turn." Claybourne threw a card into the back slot of his duel disc, and the hologram appeared behind his dragon.

The crowd erupted in cheer. With that attack, Claybourne had thrown the duel right back into his favour. Elsworth could only stare at his deck as the roar of the fans bellowed around him. He waited for a moment, the sound of the crowd cheering for his opponent was unusual. Regardless, he had to win somehow.

"It's my turn," Elsworth said. "Draw!"

He looked at the card he drew, and a smile appeared on his face. _Perfect._

"Are you smiling?" Claybourne asked. "There's nothing that can stop my dragon now."

Elsworth ignored the question. "From my graveyard, I activate the effect of my Arkbrave Dragon." His graveyard began to glow. "Because it was sent there last turn, I can resurrect a dragon during my standby phase."

The crowd murmured, not sure what to expect. Claybourne cocked an eyebrow, waiting for the card to come out.

"I summon my Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand!" Elsworth exclaimed, placing the card onto his duel disc.

A dark circle appeared on the ground, and the dragon began to rise from it. Its black wings curled tightly around it, the dragon spiraled around Elsworth, the eyes of the beast looking straight at Claybourne. Its wings suddenly unfurled, and the dragon let out a roar that caused multiple people to cover their ears. The silver and gold plated dragon floated around Elsworth, possessing 2800 attack points.

"Nice card," Claybourne noted, "But it's not strong enough to battle my Blue-Eyes."

"That's why I'm activating its special ability!" Elsworth pointed at Blue-Eyes as Felgrand began to glow. "Because it was special summoned from the graveyard, it banishes a face-up monster on the field, then gains 200 attack points for each of its levels!"

"What?" Claybourne had never heard of this card, and was taken aback by that ability.

He could only watch as a gold mist came out of Felgrand's mouth. It engulfed Blue-Eyes, and the dragon quickly vanished in the fog. When it cleared, the dragon was gone, and Elsworth's dragon stood at a mighty 4400 attack points.

"Now, Felgrand att-" Elsworth paused, remembering Claybourne's face down card. He couldn't afford to recklessly attack into it. He needed another play, and he knew just the one.

"From my hand, I activate Return of the Dragon Lords!" He placed the spell card down on his disc. "This allows me to summon a Dragon-type monster from my graveyard."

The dark circle appeared yet again, but a new dragon rose. Its blue body was broken up only by a brighter blue on its chest, and some red patches along the wings. As the circle closed and the dragon touched down, it reared its head back and let out a powerful roar. The bright blue area on its body shone bright, as the beast's roar sent shivers down everyone's spines.

"Appear, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" Elsworth exclaimed.

The dragon fixed its gaze on Claybourne, the swirling galaxy in its eyes making it a very spectacular monster. It stood at 3000 attack points.

 _That's it, just attack me,_ Claybourne thought. _Walk right into my trap._

Elsworth let out another smile. "And now," he calmly said, "This duel ends."

"You think so, huh?" Claybourne asked. "Attack me and find out."

"Oh I will," Elsworth said, looking Claybourne right in the eye. "Right after this."

"After what?" Claybourne asked, still confused.

Elsworth raised his arm. "I overlay my level 8 Felgrand and Galaxy-Eyes!"

The monsters lost all their features, and their forms became a bright yellow light. The lights raced high, as a vortex appeared in front of Elsworth. The two balls of light shot down into the vortex, their trails following behind them as they disappeared. Soon after, the vortex glowed a magnificent gold.

"With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" He paused, before yelling again. "I XYZ summon Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand!"

Another silver and gold plated figure appeared, but this one took the shape of a human. The body armour wrapped around him, and the knight drew two swords from his scabbards. He held 2800 attack points.

"And now," Elsworth said, "Knight Felgrand attacks you directly!"

The knight gripped his swords and pointed them at Claybourne. He raised them over his head as he charged forwards.

"I activate the Storming Mirror Force trap card!" Claybourne exclaimed, the hologram flipping over. "Now every attacking monster is returned to your hand."

A brown tornado shot out of the card, and was headed straight for the charging Felgrand. Elsworth, however, had saw this coming, and had prepared a countermeasure.

"I activate Felgrand's ability!" Elsworth had so much confidence in his voice, it surprised everyone watching. "By removing an overlay unit, Felgrand is unaffected by card effects this turn."

"No way," Claybourne muttered, knowing he had lost.

Felgrand temporarily stopped running, as he slashed at one of his overlay units with his sword. The tornado flew past Felgrand as the knight continued his charge. He dropped both swords down on Claybourne, and he fell to his knees as the hologram passed through him, his life points now at 0.

As the augmented reality vanished, the headmaster walked out from his chair. "In a come-from-behind victory, it looks like our winner is Elsworth!" He grabbed his arm and raised it to the ceiling, the crowd erupting in cheer like never before. After a minute it died down. "Alright everyone, you're free to go." The headmaster barely finished the sentence as students started rushing out of the building.

Claybourne and Elsworth stayed behind to talk. They shook hands as Claybourne stood up.

"Man, I didn't see that coming," Claybourne said, shaking his head. "Guess I've still got some stuff to learn before I hit the circuit."

Elsworth shrugged. "I'm sure you'll do great, you're an amazing duelist."

Claybourne smiled, and they shook hands again. "Thanks man, you are too."

* * *

Elsworth made his way home after the tournament. Accepting congratulations and handshakes from the spectators he passed, he felt a sense of accomplishment. He made it home with a smile he's never had before.

"Mom, I'm home," he called as he entered the house. No reply.

He dropped his bag off at the door and made his way to the kitchen. He saw his older brother with his head in his hands, his mother next to him.

"I can't do it, the pressure's too much," he heard his brother muttering.

"What's going on?" Elsworth asked.

His mother turned to face him. "Your brother's career as a pro duelist isn't going so well." She shook her head. "If he doesn't win his upcoming duel, he'll be kicked out of the majors."

Elsworth's brother was three years older, and like Claybourne, the top duelist at the school. His long blue hair was messily scattered on his head, some of it dropping in front of his face. He had on his signature purple tank top, with blue jeans. Right after graduating, he went pro, and was in the major league for the past year. Losing that would be devastating.

"It'll take a miracle…" his brother could barely finish the sentence. Elsworth couldn't stand to hear his brother like this.

"Come on," Elsworth said. "Let's take a walk, give your mind a break."

His brother looked up at their mother, who nodded. He stood up, and they left together. Seeing as he learned how to duel from his older brother, there was no way Elsworth could sit around and do nothing. He also knew just how much his brother loved getting out and enjoying some fresh air, so hopefully this would help him ease his mind.

* * *

There was a park nearby with a heavily forested area, so that's where they headed. It was full of tress to climb on, and small ponds and creeks to wade around in. The two had often come here to discuss dueling, so it made sense that Elsworth would take his brother here. It didn't take them long to find a nice secluded area.

"I don't get it," Elsworth said, taking a seat on a stump. "You're the best duelist I know. How could you possibly lose?"

His brother shook his head. "I guess my head hasn't been in the right place."

Elsworth looked at him. "Your career means everything to you. You have to start thinking straight, and do whatever you can to protect it."

"I know that," his brother said, not meeting his gaze. "I just need to get something off my chest."

"Tell me," Elsworth said, standing up. "Let me help you."

His brother stood up as well. "Alright then, follow me."

They walked further into the bush. Elsworth had never been this deep, and quickly lost his bearings. His brother seemed to know exactly where they were going, so he followed closely.

They pushed through a final group of trees, and came out into a small clearing. It seemed unnatural. A small pond was off to one side, the water flowing in from the forest. The sun seemed to shine especially bright, making the place look almost like an illusion. A lone rock stood in the center, and it caught Elsworth's eye.

"Where are we?" he asked, looking at his brother.

"You asked what was on my mind, so here we are." He pointed at the rock. "Take a look over there."

They walked over to it, and Elsworth discovered that there were actually two cards on the rock. They were XYZ monsters, but he couldn't tell which ones. As he got closer, he could feel a bunch of negative emotions running through him.

"What are these?" Elsworth asked.

"These are what's been keeping me distracted." His brother's gaze fixated on the cards. "Number cards."

"Number cards?" Elsworth was still confused. "What are Number cards?"

"From what I can tell, they are XYZ monsters with incredible powers." His brother picked them up. "I only have a limited amount of info, but it seems that nobody else in the pro circuit really knows about them."

Elsworth was equally as entranced by the cards as his brother. Powerful cards that the pro circuit didn't know about? Such cards couldn't possibly exist, which would explain his brother's very distracted state of mind.

"Here," his brother said, holding out one of the cards. "You could use this more than me."

Elsworth took the card, staring at it. He had no idea what to think. The card was unknown to him, and he couldn't make out the stats or the ability. All he knew is this card was unlike any he'd ever experienced.

"Come on," his brother said. "Let's go back. I want to rest before the big duel."

They made their way back, more questions than answers flying through Elsworth's brain.

* * *

The tv was turned on, and Elsworth and his mother prepared to watch the duel. He was beyond excited, his first chance to see a Number in action. He could hardly wait.

"Welcome duel fans!" the announcer's voice was as full of energy as ever. "As you all know, this is a very critical match. The winner of the duel gets to compete in the majors, while the loser is stuck in the minors. There's a lot riding on this duel, so let's jump into the action!"

Everyone recognized Elsworth's brother as he walked out. His rise to the majors was quite an explosive one, and he had developed a large following because of it. Even during this long losing streak, some still stayed loyal to him.

His opponent wasn't as known, though there were still some cheers from the crowd. He was obviously a big shot in the minors, but this was probably his first televised duel. He visibly trembled, his nerves on full display as he activated his duel disc.

"Alright duelists, it's time to duel!" the announcer yelled into his microphone.

"Duel!" both duelists yelled together.

As the duel continued, Elsworth wondered how his brother had sunk so low. He was dueling at the top of his game, and had successfully drawn out the duel long enough to have a trio of level four monsters on the field unopposed. His brother's dueling abilities never failed to impress him.

"With three level four monsters on the field, expect a strong XYZ summon here," the announcer spoke into his microphone very slowly. "This card could change the course of the whole duel."

Elsworth smiled, and saw his brother smiling as well. His was a different smile though; it seemed like a very sinister smile. It was as if he knew his opponent was finished, and was savouring the moment.

"I build the overlay network with these three monsters!" His brother raised an arm in the air as he shouted. Elsworth was on the edge of his seat.

"Here it comes," he muttered under his breath.

"Here comes what?" his mother asked.

The three figures of energy swirled as they entered the portal, as they did during an XYZ summon. A prism shot out of the vortex, and it flew high above the heads of the duelists. The camera panned back to Elsworth's brother, and he noticed a feint purple glow emitting from him. He also saw the number 16 glowing on his right hand.

He held up his hand, and the number flashed. "I XYZ summon Number 16: Shock Master!"

Energy poured out of the prism as it unfolded, twisting and shaping itself to form the beast. Its head shot out of a long neck that extended out of its body, and the number 16 was visible on its right side. As it roared, it let out a power that Elsworth had never seen before.

"Oh my," the announcer said, stunned. "I don't think any of us have ever seen such a monster."

"W-what is that?" his opponent asked.

"The end of the duel!" The glow around his brother was more visible, and Elsworth could only watch as his brother seemed to grow angrier. "Shock Master, attack!"

The monster let loose a stream of light from the horn on its head, and it knocked his opponent back as it hit. The duel ended, his opponent left on the ground as Elsworth's brother turned to leave. The crowd was silent; such a beast had never been seen before.

Elsworth turned off the tv. He didn't care about what the announcer had to say about that duel, he had seen enough. All the info he needed would be from his brother when he got home.

"What was that card?" his mother asked. "I don't remember seeing that one before."

Elsworth shook his head. "I have no idea," he lied. He stood up to leave.

 _All I know is that card is more powerful than even I thought._ Elsworth frowned, still trying to figure out the change in his brother's demeanor at the end of that duel. _There's still more questions I need answered, so let's hope my brother knows what happened._

* * *

Elsworth pulled his Number out of his deck, trying to wrap his head around everything. _Was it the number that made my brother look and act like that?_ The thought troubled him. _Maybe I don't want to get involved in this after all._ It was then that the door opened.

"Hey Elsworth," his brother called as he entered.

"Hey, great win man," Elsworth said smiling. "No way anyone saw that coming."

His brother chuckled. "Yup, I bet that card got them all scared."

"Speaking of emotions, you seemed to get pretty angry near the end," Elsworth commented. "Was that due to the Number?"

"I'm not sure if it was the Number or just adrenaline," his brother admitted. "I don't know enough about the numbers yet. However, I found someone who does."

"Really?" Elsworth asked. "Who?"

"A man who called himself Fortuno came to me after the duel. He said that he had info on the Numbers," he explained. "He gave me his address, so I was going to go see him tonight."

Elsworth was stunned. "Someone who knows about the Numbers? Let me come, I want to know this stuff too."

His brother smiled. "Absolutely. We should both learn some stuff if these Numbers turn out to be more than just cards."

Elsworth nodded. Tonight was going to be an interesting night, one way or another.

* * *

The two made their way to the address just after the sun started to go down. The house was covered in moss, with windows all across the front. There was a large gate, which the two stood in front of. As they were staring at the large house, the gates opened on their own. A mist appeared, and out of it walked a very tall and skinny man. He had a cloak on, the hood over his head. A pendant of red and green stones hung from his neck.

"Hello Fortuno," Elsworth's brother said.

 _So this is the person he talked to._ Elsworth thought. _He seems creepy._

"Ah, I see you took up my offer. Brought your kid brother with you." The brother nodded. "Very well, I delight in sharing my knowledge with anyone who is willing to learn. Please, come in, and I will show you the enlightenment you seek."

Fortuno turned around and walked into the house. They followed him as he walked through a series of long hallways, pictures decorating the walls. The passageway seemed to go on forever. Elsworth shuddered as he looked around, the unease he felt growing with each step. Fortuno didn't once turn around, simply walking ahead and showing them the way.

They finally made their way into a room. It was circular, with a strangle pattern in the center. The walls in here were blank, no pictures or windows in sight. A staircase led up at the back, and someone seemed to be at the top, sitting down on a chair. Elsworth couldn't make out who it was, all he could see were two glowing blue eyes. He stopped walking, Fortuno and his brother standing on the center pattern.

"So what do you know about the numbers?" Elsworth's brother asked.

Fortuno turned around. "Numbers are a strange XYZ monster variety, that amplify and feed off the negative emotions of the duelists that wield them." Fortuno looked directly at the brother. "Your Number did the same thing to you, as you probably noticed during your duel."

Elsworth's brother nodded. "I did feel myself growing angrier near the end of the duel."

"Exactly," Fortuno said. "The Number was trying to influence your emotions, and I'd say it nearly worked."

"So tell me," the brother asked again. "How did you learn this stuff about Numbers? Do you have one?"

Fortuno smiled. "Not only do I have one, but I collect them!"

As he spoke, a wall of light appeared on the border of the inner circle pattern. It started to expand further out, pushing Elsworth back against the wall. He could only watch in horror as Fortuno pulled out a duel disc from under his cloak.

"Your Number will make an excellent addition to my collection!" Fortuno yelled.

"That's not happening," Elsworth's brother said, activating his duel disc. "Let's duel!"

At that moment, Elsworth felt himself growing tired. He tried to keep his attention on the duel, but he kept spacing out. _Is this Fortuno's work?_ he tried to think clearly, but the duel quickly turned into a blur. He stood there, watching the faded figures go back and forth. He remembered nothing until he saw his brother go flying backwards into the floor.

"Oh no," Elsworth said to himself.

"Your fate has been sealed," Fortuno said. "It is useless to try and rewrite what was already written in the stars many years ago."

"What is he talking about?" Elsworth asked.

"You believed that you would achieve greatness," he continued. "But you're nothing more than a pawn in a game beyond your comprehension."

His brother shuddered as Fortuno stared right at him.

"And now you will give me what I seek." He pointed directly at Elsworth's brother.

"This... isn't over," he said as he stood up. The purple aura appeared around him, and the number 16 was visible on his hand again. "Number 16: Shock Master! Attack!"

The beast charged at Fortuno, and suddenly everything was a blue for Elsworth again. _No!_ He couldn't lose focus now, he needed to be there for his brother. When everything cleared, he found himself outside. Putting on his duel gazer, he was able to see through his brother's eyes. The duel was over, and he was lying on the ground. Suddenly, a glowing hand shot out of Fortuno, and it struck his brother right in the chest. As it withdrew, Elsworth saw his brother's number in the hand, before the connection cut off.

"Oh no..." Elsworth muttered.


	2. Chapter 2

So while this series will contain a good portion of the numbers that were not featured in the anime, there are a couple I won't include. Specifically, Number 93: Utopia Kaiser, and Number 98: Antitopian. These are both Utopia-related cards, and seeing as Yuma won't be making too many appearances, it doesn't make sense to include them in this series. With that in mind, let's jump into the first full-blown duel.

* * *

Elsworth was at the hospital, standing next to his brother's bed. He stared blankly at the ceiling, not reacting to anything Elsworth said or did. His blue hair had turned a very light grey, and was strewn all across his head. It was as if all the life had been sucked out of him.

 _But maybe that's what happened,_ Elsworth thought. _Fortuno did something to him, and now I'll make him regret doing this._

As much as he wanted to run to Fortuno's house and wipe the floor with him, he held back. He remembered the number the fortune teller possessed, and it made him shudder. Its power destroyed his brother without a second thought. He had no choice but to fight, but he would need some help first; he'd have to collect more Numbers.

Elsworth stood up from his chair and walked towards the exit. Stopping, he took one look back at his brother. The emotionless, unresponsive body did not move. Elsworth sighed.

"I promise, brother," Elsworth said, "I'll get revenge for you."

Elsworth left the hospital, and threw his hands in his pockets. He knew he had to get more power if he had any chance of stopping Fortuno, but how? He didn't know of anyone else with a Number, nor did he know how to find out. This was going to be quite a conundrum, one that Elsworth had no choice but to solve. He needed to clear his head, to start fresh. The chance to do that just happened to show up.

He bumped shoulders with another person. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Wait," the other person said. "You're Elsworth, top duelist at the high school."

Elsworth turned to look at him. "Yeah, and you are?" he asked.

The other boy smirked. "Call me Chris. Also known as the younger brother of the guy that your brother beat in that duel the other day."

"Oh." Elsworth didn't see where this was going. "It was a good duel, eh?"

Chris suddenly turned angrier. "It would've been if your brother hadn't used that Number card." His expression turned slightly softer. "He would've lost had it not been for that card."

Elsworth turned away. "Oh well, it is what it is," he said dismissively.

Chris walked in front of him. "Heard your brother's in the hospital after losing a duel." Chris smirked. "Shame his Number wasn't there to protect him."

Now it was Elsworth's turn to be angry. "Alright, the Number's gone, so you can stop talking crap about my brother!"

"Oh no," Chris said. "I'm going to make an example out of you, then I'm going right after your brother."

That was the last straw. "Nobody goes after my brother!" Elsworth roared. "If it's a duel you want, it's a duel you've got!"

Chris laughed. "You and your brother are nothing without Numbers!" He attached the duel disc to the band on his arm, and it unfolded. He placed the duel gazer on his face, and it lit up.

Elsworth's disc was quite different. It had the same rectangular shape as the standard issue discs, but it opened differently. A thin but wide band of dark purple light extended from the side, which curved outward. It solidified, the curved duel disc now materialized. He too placed his duel gazer over his left eye.

Both players drew their opening hands, a crowd starting to gather. "Duel!" They both shouted.

"I'll make the first move, so I'll draw!" Chris exclaimed. "To start this match off, I'm activating the Foolish Burial card."

His deck shot out a single card, which Chris caught between his fingers. Elsworth watched as he simply placed the card in his graveyard.

"With this spell, I can send a card from my deck to the graveyard," Chris explained.

Muttering could be heard all around them. "Why would he do that?" one voiced asked particularly loud.

"Here's why," Chris answered. "I summon Snoww, Unlight of Dark World!"

A purple and white clad woman appeared, her long white hair flowing behind her. She slammed her staff into the ground, the head decorated with red and green gemstones. She stood at 1700 attack points.

"If that card he sent to the grave is what I think it is…" Elsworth said to himself.

"I now activate the card I sent to the graveyard!" Chris yelled. "I return Snoww to my hand, and summon Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World!"

Snoww glowed a bright yellow before fading away, and a dark circle appeared on the ground. Slowly, Grapha rose from it. It was pure black, the sunlight reflecting off its shiny scales. Its wings unfolded and it opened its eyes, a dark red. It reared its head back and roared. Its attack points were at a much higher 2700.

"I'll end my turn right there," Chris said. "It's your move."

"I draw," Elsworth said, taking a card.

 _I'm going to make this guy pay for threatening my brother,_ Elsworth thought. "From my hand, I activate the spell Trade-In. By discarding a level 8 monster, I can draw two cards."

He drew his two cards, and was pleased at the result. "I'll activate one of them, my Return of the Dragon Lords spell!" He placed it on his disc. "Now I can special summon a dragon from my graveyard."

Chris remembered this move from the tournament. "Here it comes," he said.

Just like last time, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon appeared from the graveyard. Its howl was no less impressive than before, and it still stood at 3000 attack points.

"Go Galaxy-Eyes, attack Grapha!" Elsworth pointed at his opponent's monster. "Photon Stream of Destruction!"

Galaxy-Eyes opened its mouth, and a huge burst of energy shot out. It hit Grapha right in the chest, and the monster howled as it exploded. The force of the burst hit Chris, who went flying back. His life points were at 3700.

"I place one card face down and end my turn," Elsworth said.

Chris stood up. "I draw!" he yelled. He looked at his hand. "He's being a lot more aggressive than I thought," he told himself. "Time to put the brakes on his offense."

Elsworth was not impressed. "Let's keep the duel going."

"Alright then, I activate the spell card Dark World Dealings. Now we both draw a card, but must both discard a card right after." Chris drew and discarded a card, as Elsworth did that same.

"Now my Snoww's effect activates!" Chris smiled as his graveyard glowed. "Because I discarded it, I get to add a Dark World card to my hand."

Elsworth's gaze narrowed. "I see where this is going."

"I activate another Dark World Dealings," Chris said. As Chris drew and discarded, his graveyard glowed again. "This time, it's the effect of the Grapha I discarded. Now I can destroy a card on your field, like your face down card!"

Grapha's head rose out of a circle in the ground, and it roared. The force of the roar shattered Elsworth's facedown Twin Twisters.

"Hoping to use that to destroy my field spell, were you?" Chris asked. Elsworth grimaced. "Well here it is, The Gates of Dark World field spell!"

A large door appeared behind Chris, the size of a skyscraper. It opened partially, and a bright light escaped from it. No one could see what was behind the door.

"The Gates gives all my Fiends an additional 300 attack points. Furthermore, by banishing a Fiend from the graveyard, I can discard a card to draw a new one." Chris said all of this as he did it.

Snoww stood in front of the door, as well as another monster that Elsworth couldn't make out. The door opened slightly more and they were both sucked in. It slammed behind them.

"When I discard my Sillva, Warlord of Dark World, I can summon it back from the grave!" Chris yelled.

The Gates opened, and Sillva came flying out. Its black wings supported it, the horns on its head being the only white on its body. It landed, white sword in hand, with 2600 attack points.

"I once again return a Dark World monster to my hand and summon Grapha from the graveyard!" As Sillva returned to the hand, Grapha reappeared, now with 3000 attack. "I set a monster in defense mode, and two cards face down." Chris had finally ended his turn.

Elsworth took a second to survey the field. Chris had out his ace monster Grapha, as well as a card in defence mode. He also had two other set cards, which made Elsworth concerned. Although he did have his Galaxy-Eyes out, it alone wouldn't be enough to keep this game even. He'd have to break out a more powerful beast if he wanted to win this game. He knew just the monster to bring out, as well.

"I draw," Elsworth said as he drew another card.

"And I activate my Trap Card!" Chris turned over one of the cards he had facedown. "My Anti-Spell Fragrance will prevent your spell cards from activating, meaning you have to place them facedown and activate them the following turn."

Elsworth grimaced; he was planning on using the Twin Twisters in his hand to destroy the Gates, but that didn't seem like an option now. He had to go with his backup.

"Because I have Galaxy-Eyes on my field, I can summon Galaxy Knight from my hand without tribute, as long as I lower its attack by 1000." Elsworth placed the card on his duel disc.

The silver armored warrior came shooting in on his hoverboard, sword in hand. He pointed his sword at Grapha, standing at 1800 attack points.

"Now I overlay my level 8 Galaxy-Eyes and Galaxy Knight!" Elsworth yelled. "I build the overlay network!"

The two monsters became yellow orbs of light, and they spiraled into the air. The vortex opened beneath them, and they flew into it. As their tails followed them in, the vortex exploded in light.

"I XYZ summon Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!"

The beast shot out of the portal. Its clear white wings unfurled, to show its blue body had more spots of black and red. It let out a loud roar, which shook the air. It held 3000 attack points.

"Your monster has the same strength as mine," Chris said, sneering. "You've accomplished nothing."

"I activate Cipher's ability," Elsworth said, ignoring the comment. "By removing an overlay unit, I gain control of one of your monsters."

"What?" Chris asked, but it was too late.

Cipher Dragon roared as its wings stretched out, a white glow emitting from them. Grapha's eyes went pure white, and it flew towards Cipher. It turned around, now facing Chris.

"Nice monster, let's see how strong it is," Elsworth said. "Grapha, attack his facedown monster!"

Grapha opened its mouth, and a dark stream of light flew out of it. As it headed for the card, it turned over, revealing a rock with one eye and a smile.

"When my Morphing Jar gets flipped over, we discard our hands and draw 5 new cards!" Chris said as his monster got absorbed by the blast.

As they both did that, Chris's graveyard began to glow. Two monsters suddenly appeared from the circle created in the ground. One was Sillva, and the other was a mirror image of him, but lots of gold was mixed in with its armor. They both stood at 2600 attack points.

"Because both Goldd and Sillva were discarded, I summon them both back to my field!" Chris yelled triumphantly.

Elsworth frowned. "Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon, attack Goldd!" He pointed at the gold armored monster.

Galaxy-Eyes opened its mouth, and a beam of light shot forward at Goldd. It exploded, and the force of the blast sent Chris flying backwards. He now stood at 3300 life points.

"I place one card facedown and end my turn," Elsworth said. "Now that my turn is over, Grapha returns to you."

"And that's the worst mistake you'll ever make!" Chris shouted. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell card Gateway to Dark world! Now I can summon a Dark World monster from my graveyard!"

The familiar circle opened up in the ground, and another Grapha floated up from it. It, like its counterpart, held 3000 attack points, the same as Galaxy-Eyes.

"Now I draw!" Chris drew the top card.

"And I activate a Spell of my own," Elsworth announced, flipping over the card. "By discarding one card, Twin Twisters destroys both your gates and your Anti-Spell Fragrance."

"No!" Chris could only watch as the tornados tore apart his gate, and the Trap he placed exploded along with it. "I won't let you win, not now!"

Suddenly Chris clutched his head. He started grunting, and struggled to stand. He had a massive headache like nothing else. He could hear a very deep voice in his head. _Yes Chris_ , it said. _Let the Number take hold._ Chris stood straight again, the familiar purple glow surrounding his body.

Elsworth frowned. "Wait, does he have a Number?" he asked himself.

His question was quickly answered. "I overlay my two level 8 Graphas!" Chris shouted. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network and XYZ summon!"

The two Graphas became purple light, which spiraled into the air. As they flew back down into the portal, their tails trailing behind them, it exploded. The blast had trees bending in the wind and people doing their best not to get thrown back, holding on to whatever they could.

The number flashed on Chris's hand as he held it up. "Rise from the underworld, Number 22: Zombiestein!"

The monster had to be at least 20 feet tall. Its muscles bulged out from under its gold armor that covered the lower half of its midsection. A greed hood covered its face, with the number 22 printed on the left side. It stood at a staggering 4500 attack points.

"W-what?" Elsworth asked. "4500 attack points?"

"Go Zombiestein, attack his Galaxy-Eyes!" Chris shouted and pointed at Elsworth's dragon.

The tall monster charged towards the dragon. It jumped at it, and threw his fist into the beast. Galaxy-Eyes reared its head back and yelled before exploding. The explosion sent Elsworth flying, his life points now at 2500.

"Now Goldd can attack you directly!" Chris continued

The monster charged at Elsworth with his axe. Just as he had stood up, the monster slashed his axe, and Elsworth dropped to his knees. He only had 200 life points remaining.

"Almost there," Chris said sneering. "I end my turn."

Elsworth struggled to stand. He now saw the power of the number, and felt the effects of fighting one. He knew that if he didn't take out that monster and win this turn, he would definitely lose on the next. He needed a very specific card to win.

"I'm up," Elsworth said, pausing for a second. "Draw!"

He looked at the card he drew, and let out a deep sigh. He allowed himself a smile as he saw what he drew.

"Why are you smiling?" Chris asked.

"Because I drew exactly what I needed," Elsworth answered simply. "But first, my Arkbrave Dragon's ability."

Elsworth's graveyard glowed, and Chris knew exactly what was about to happen.

"I summon back Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" Elsworth shouted.

His dragon rose from the graveyard, as powerful and bright as ever. Elsworth knew that its 3000 attack points wouldn't be enough to combat the Number, so he had a backup plan.

"Next, I summon Galaxy-Eyes Cloudragon," Elsworth said.

The miniature version of the Photon Dragon appeared. It looked just like it, except its features were not fully developed, and it had a very rounded face. It held 300 attack points.

"So that's the card you drew?" Chris asked. "How's that going to help you?"

"By activating its special ability," Elsworth responded. "By tributing it, I can summon a Galaxy-Eyes from my graveyard!"

The baby began to glow, and wrapped itself in an egg of white light. The egg grew, and kept growing until it was the same size as Galaxy-Eyes. The egg broke open in a flash of bright light.

"Return, Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!" Elsworth shouted.

His XYZ monster roared, back at full strength. Its 3000 attack points still weren't enough to combat Zombiestein.

"Now, since Cloudragon brought back an XYZ monster, it becomes an overlay unit for the monster," Elsworth explained.

Cloudragon raced up from the graveyard and morphed into an overlay unit, circling around Cipher Dragon.

"You know what happens when Cipher Dragon uses an overlay unit," Elsworth continued. "I gain control of one of your monsters, like Zombiestein."

Cipher's eyes glowed again, and it looked like Elsworth had it. Chris, however, had a defense of his own.

"I activate Zombiestein's ability!" Chris shouted. "By removing an overlay unit and discarding a card, not only does it switch to defense mode, but your monster's effect is negated!"

The light in Cipher's eyes faded, and Zombiestein jumped back to Chris. It adopted a battle stance, showing 1000 defense points.

"Oh no," Elsworth muttered.

"I told you, your brother only won because of a Number card!" Chris laughed as he spoke. "Now I'll show you the same power your brother showed mine!"

 _It's over,_ Elsworth thought, dropping to his knees. _I can't destroy his Number, and even if I used Galaxy-Eyes to banish it, it'll just come back next turn and end the duel. I can't win this._

"No," a voice said.

"What?" Elsworth asked, looking around.

Suddenly everything was submerged in darkness. Elsworth could see nothing around him but the endless void. He shook, looking around in worry. He could just barely make out a figure in front of him. The formless void was all black, save for two glowing eyes.

"W-who are you?" Elsworth stuttered, feeling genuine fear.

"Do not be afraid," the form spoke, its voice seeming to come from everywhere at once. "I am simply the form of your Number."

"You're the Number my brother gave me?" Elsworth asked.

"Indeed. If you do not summon me now, then this duel will be lost." The Number seemed to have concern in his voice.

"But what about the other guy?" Elsworth was still trying to figure this all out. "His Number possessed him, I don't want to end up like that."

"You're immune to the mind control of the Numbers," the form explained. "Your mastery of the Galaxy-Eyes has put your mind out of reach for any of the cards to take over."

"Are you sure?" Elsworth wasn't convinced.

"I'm certain," the Number flatly stated. "Now summon me, before it's too late."

Elsworth pulled the card out of his deck. He could now see all of the card's stats and abilities. He looked up at the form's eyes and nodded. "Alright."

Instantly, his vision returned to normal. Zombiestein was still in front of him, and Chris was still surrounded by that menacing purple glow.

"Are you going to duel or what?" Chris asked, annoyed.

 _Here goes,_ Elsworth thought. It was now or never.

"I rebuild the overlay network with my Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!" Elsworth exclaimed.

"What is he doing?" Chris asked.

"Because I control a rank 8 Galaxy-Eyes, I can use it to XYZ summon," Elsworth stated. "I XYZ summon the monster born from the unknown reaches of the cosmos!"

Soon after Cipher Dragon had entered the portal, it closed, and a dark fog replaced it. It was very thick, and soon nearly everything was impossible to see. Elsworth's voice, however, cut through the fog like a knife.

"Made of the very substance that destroys all matter, this monster's simple presence will tear this duel to shreds!" Elsworth paused, bracing himself for the summon. "Appear, Number 95: Galaxy-Eyes Dark Matter Dragon!"

The fog became pure black, and swept through the air. It turned out that it was not fog, but wings, and they extended out to the sides of the dragon. Its body was wispy and looked like it was barely held together. A large enough area on its chest was there to show the number 95. Its eyes glowed as it stared at Chris. The dragon had 4000 attack points.

"You have a Number too?" Chris asked in disbelief.

"I do, and it's going to end this duel!" Elsworth shouted, a second wind passing through him. "By using an overlay unit on my dragon, it can make two attacks on monsters this turn!"

"It can WHAT?" Chris was completely bewildered.

"Go Galaxy-Eyes Dark matter Dragon!" Elsworth exclaimed. "Attack Zombiestein and Sillva! Dark Matter Storm of Destruction!"

The dragon looked up at the sky, and its eyes flashed. Dark clouds suddenly appeared overhead. Dark matter started raining from the clouds, and it pelted the duel field. It struck both of Chris's monsters, and they exploded on contact. Chris got sent flying again, his life points dropping to 2300.

"Now you, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" Elsworth pointed at Chris. "Attack with Photon Stream of Destruction!"

His other dragon opened its mouth, and a bright beam of light shot out from it. It shot Chris into the air, and he flew back into a tree. He hit the ground face first, his life points now at zero.

Instantly the void returned. All Elsworth could see was Chris lying face down in front of him, and his Number off in the distance. The purple aura was still around Chris.

Acting completely automatically, Elsworth stuck out his arm. The aura seemed to get sucked into his hand, a stream of purple energy travelling from Chris to Elsworth. It materialized into a card, and soon the aura was gone from Chris, and Elsworth held Number 22.

The void once again disappeared, and they were back to Earth. Elsworth looked around and saw everyone murmuring, as confused about the cards as he was. He barely had time to process it before he saw his friend Sharma running towards him.

"Elsworth, Fortuno's dueling again," Sharma quickly explained. "He's going after another Number."

"Oh no," Elsworth muttered. "Let's go, we have to stop him."


	3. Chapter 3

Apologies for abandoning this, I started a new job and couldn't find the time or energy to write. Here's a bigger update, in case anyone was actually reading this and was concerned.

* * *

Elsworth stood anxiously by the door, waiting for his brother to come home. The duel he just watched was so insane, he was hoping his brother would come home soon so he could get more info on the Number. As he stood there waiting, he heard his Duel Gazer ringing. He put it on to accept the call.

"Hey Elsworth," the voice said.

"Hey there Sharma," Elsworth responded, recognizing his friend's voice.

Sharma had been one of Elsworth's closest friends throughout school. A fellow third year, Sharma was less of a duelist and more of the brains behind their operations. He was a slightly shorter fellow with brown skin, and he kept his black hair short. He was almost always with Elsworth during his duels, supporting him and cheering him on.

"What was that card your brother used to win that duel?" Sharma asked.

Elsworth paused. "Supposedly it's called a Number card. I don't know much about it, so I'm waiting for my brother to come home and tell me about it."

"Alright," Sharma said. "Call me when he gets back, I need to know more about that card."

"Will do," Elsworth responded before hanging up.

The next time that the two saw each other wasn't until Elsworth's brother lost his Number. Elsworth had gone to the hospital, and Sharma arrived shortly after. Sharma noticed how still and unresponsive Elsworth's brother was, and it concerned him.

"So what happened to him?" Sharma asked.

"He lost a duel to someone else with a Number," Elsworth responded.

"So you mean there are more Numbers?" Sharma was getting nervous.

Elsworth went on to talk about Fortuno, and the things he told them about the Numbers. He continued by recapping the duel, and how Fortuno had stolen his brother's Number after losing to him. Sharma's head was spinning with all of this new information.

"So what you're saying," Sharma said uncomfortably, "is that Fortuno stole your brother's Number and made him like this?"

Elsworth nodded. "I'm pretty sure. That guy needs to be stopped."

"But Elsworth," Sharma pleaded, "your brother couldn't beat him, and he had a Number as well. You'll need to get stronger if you want to challenge him."

Elsworth paused. "I know. I'll need to make some serious changes to my deck if I hope to stand a chance."

Sharma nodded. "Alright, tell me if there's any way I can help."

"Yeah, actually," Elsworth said. "Can you go watch Fortuno's house and make sure he doesn't duel anyone else?"

"You bet," Sharma responded. "I'll let you know if I see anything."

Elsworth nodded at him, and Sharma left. Elsworth turned back towards his brother. _Hopefully I'll be able to find a way_ , he thought.

That was the last time Sharma and Elsworth had talked. Now here they were, running back to Fortuno's crypt, only minutes after Elsworth's most intense duel yet. He feared that he might have to confront Fortuno head-on, something he was hoping to avoid at the moment.

They reached the house, and saw that the gate was open. Elsworth ran inside, Sharma following close behind. Elsworth had remembered the route, and ran through the halls as fast as he could. He dreaded the thoughts of what he might see, thoughts of Fortuno stealing another Number, and another soul. He shook his head and kept running.

They finally reached the duel field under Fortuno's house, and were quite frightened by what they saw. Fortuno was dueling, and this time he was against a child that looked younger than Elsworth. He had a red jacket over a blue shirt, with white pants. His black hair was spiked up, with red spikes at the front. He had on a golden necklace that looked sort of like a key.

The situation looked dire for the kid. Fortuno had the same Number that defeated Elsworth's brother, plus a second number right next to it, the number 39 on its left shoulder. Elsworth shook his head, feeling bad for the kid. His brother was a pro, and lost when his Number went one on one. This kid didn't stand a chance.

He couldn't help but notice a few things. First, the kid seemed to be looking over his shoulder and talking to himself, as if addressing someone taller than him. Second, Fortuno seemed a little uneasy, though it looked like he was about to win the duel. Elsworth was very confused, wishing that he had seen more of the duel.

Suddenly, the necklace around the kid's neck began to glow. It shot out a beam of bright light, which exploded as it hit an invisible target. A form appeared, and it blew Elsworth's mind. It was a very bright white, with blue patterns and designs spattered across its body. It floated above the ground, right where the kid was facing when he talked to himself.

"What in the," Elsworth muttered.

"What… is that?" Fortuno asked, bewildered.

Everyone paused as the shining from the figure died down. It had a very serious look on its face, and Elsworth ventured a guess that it was not a fan of Fortuno. Elsworth gulped. Just who was this kid?

"Yuma," the figure said to the kid. "Win this."

"You got it pal," Yuma said, smiling. He faced Fortuno. "Get ready."

"Yuma, eh?" Elsworth muttered again. Who was this kid, and what was that… thing… doing with him?

"It's my turn!" Yuma yelled. "I draw!"

He drew his card, and looked at it. The smile on his face reappeared, and Elsworth raised his eyebrows. Was this kid actually capable of beating Fortuno?

"Use it Yuma!" the figure exclaimed. "And get back Utopia!"

Elsworth's eyes widened. "Utopia? Does that other Number belong to this Yuma kid?"

"On it! First up, I'm activating the spell card Comeback!" Yuma threw the card onto his duel disc. "With this bad boy, I can regain control of a monster on your field!"

The card shot a blast into Fortuno's Number, which caused a small flash. Utopia jumped back over to Yuma's side of the field. Elsworth surmised that Fortuno's Number had the power to steal monsters, which was probably how his brother had lost.

"Utopia, come back!" Yuma yelled.

"No!" Fortuno pleaded.

Utopia, now on Yuma's field, caused him to smile. It seemed the kid was quite attached to his Number. It also seemed that, like Elsworth, he was not controlled by the Number at all. Peculiar indeed.

"And now we can achieve victory!" The figure yelled. It extended a hand, and Yuma's deck box started glowing. "The path has been made."

"Path?" Yuma asked. "For what?"

He reached into his deck box and pulled out the glowing card. As the glow faded, the gleam in Yuma's eyes grew. His eyes went wide as he saw the card, in as much bewilderment as everyone else.

"For this," the form said. "Chaos Number 39!"

"Chaos Number?" Elsworth asked. Sharma shook his head. _What in the world?_

"By combining Utopia with its overlay units, it can further evolve itself!" The figure exclaimed. "The time is now, Yuma!"

Utopia's features started to disappear, until it formed a single column. The vortex used for XYZ summoning appeared, and Utopia sunk down into it. The vortex closed and exploded as it usually did, but this time it was different. Elsworth could feel it.

"Go, Chaos XYZ Evolution!" Both Yuma and the figure shouted. "Get ready for Chaos Number 39! I give you, Utopia Ray!"

The monster seemed very similar in design to Utopia, except for a few noticeable differences. First, it was mostly black, where Utopia was majority white. There was also one long sword on its back that wasn't there previously. Finally, the giant 39 on the shoulder was now a deep crimson.

"Woah," Elsworth said to himself.

"I did not see this transpiring," Fortuno admitted. "Nevertheless, my Big Eye is more powerful!"

"Not when Utopia Ray's special ability activates!" The two continued to yell in perfect unison. "By using an overlay unit, it gains 500 attack points!"

The beast flexed both hands as it gripped the sword on its back. It very slowly pulled it out of the scabbard, the blade shining as it reflected the light on the ceiling. Utopia Ray gripped the sword in its right hand as it lowered.

"Right now Utopia Ray has three overlay units, which are all about to be used!" The two continued to yell at the same time. "Go, Overlay Charge!"

Utopia Ray once again gripped the sword with both hands as it raised the blade over its head. All of the overlay units shot into the sword, and Utopia Ray glowed brightly. Its attack points jumped up to 4000.

"No," Fortuno pleaded. "No!"

"And, for every overlay unit," the two continued, "your monster loses 1000 attack points!"

Fortuno could only watch as Big Eye dropped to 0 attack points.

"That means…" he couldn't bear to finish.

"It sure does!" Yuma yelled on his own this time. "Do it Utopia Ray! Attack Big Eye! Rising Sun Chaos Slash!"

Utopia Ray slashed at Big Eye with two smaller swords, before raising the longsword over its head. It brought the sword down hard, and it sliced right through Big Eye. The monster shattered into pieces before exploding. Fortuno yelled as the blast knocked him back, his life points now at 0.

Elsworth and Sharma both stood there, absolutely stunned. The kid managed to talk to some sort of alien, evolve his Number, and defeat the guy who destroyed his brother. Elsworth shook his head.

"Let's get out of here," he told Sharma. Nodding, they both ran out of the house.

They burst out of the front door, and didn't stop until they hit the street. They stood just outside the gate, panting hard. Elsworth had trouble wrapping his head around what he just saw. The kid managed to destroy Fortuno, and bring out a Chaos Number.

Sharma piped up. "So that was a duel with Numbers, huh?"

Elsworth nodded. "Now you understand why I had to defeat him. I couldn't let his Number hurt anyone else."

Sharma also nodded. "But now that Yuma kid has both it and your brother's Numbers," he said. "What are you going to do now?"

Elsworth sighed hard. "There's only one thing I can do," he said.

"Huh?" Sharma asked.

"I'm going to defeat Yuma," he stated.

There was a chuckle heard just behind them. "Actually, I don't think you will be dueling Yuma at all," it said.

They turned around to face the speaker. It was a taller man who looked like he had a couple years on them. He wore a black hoodie over a white shirt, with blue jeans. His brown hair was short and combed back. He had a very smug grin on his face.

Elsworth raised an eyebrow. "Who're you?" he asked.

"I'm the guy who's going to go in there and take Yuma's Number," the man responded. "But you can call me Chester."

Elsworth shook his head. "I can't let you duel Yuma."

Chester laughed. "Why? You his friend or something?"

"It doesn't matter who I am," Elsworth responded. "You want a shot at Yuma, you'll have me to get past."

"But Elsworth," Sharma piped up, "this guy probably has a Number. Are you sure you can take one of those on?

Elsworth turned to look at his friend. "Don't worry about me," he said. "Just stand back and let me do my thing."

Sharma nodded, then stepped off to the side. _I thought only his brother had a Number,_ he thought to himself. _Why does Elsworth think he can take one on after what happened to his brother?_

Chester's smile turned sinister. "You ready, kid?" he asked.

"You bet," Elsworth responded. "Let's do this!"

They both activated their duel discs, and put on their duel gazers. As they drew their opening hands, Elsworth's thoughts became a rush. If he loses this duel, and this Chester fellow moves on to face Yuma, nothing good would come. Either Yuma would get even stronger, or this random person would get all the power Yuma has. Losing this duel was not an option.

"Let's get this show on the road!" Chester drew his first card. "I'll kick things off with Red-Eyes Insight!"

Elsworth's brow furrowed. "He's also playing a dragon deck," he muttered.

"By sending a Red-Eyes from my deck to the graveyard, I can add a Red-Eyes card to my hand," Chester explained as he did just that. "Following that, I'm summoning the Black Stone of Legend!"

A small pile of rocks appeared, and from the center, a small egg rose. It was a dark red, with a light glowing from the inside. A small crack could be seen forming near the top, a small amount of light coming through it. The egg, understandably, had 0 attack points.

"While this egg may not be much on its own, its ability will change that!" Chester grinned. "By tributing it, I can summon a Red-Eyes right from my deck!"

"Here it comes," Elsworth grimaced.

"Take to the skies Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Chester shouted.

The egg exploded, and the dragon shot out. Every single scale was jet black, and the moon's light reflected off it quite brightly. The monster opened its mouth slightly, revealing its black teeth. Its bright red eyes stood out quite a bit, making the monster's gaze that much more terrifying. It had 2400 attack points.

"So that's what his deck is made of," Elsworth muttered.

"Next, I'll double the trouble with the Silver's Cry spell!" Chester placed the card on his duel disc. "With this, I can resurrect the other Red-Eyes Black Dragon in my graveyard!"

An exact copy of the other dragon floated onto the field. They roared in unison, two dragons being much more intimidating than just the one. Elsworth noted that the dragons were level 7, but he was not sure what kind of rank 7 XYZ monster Chester would throw out. He braced himself for the worst.

"Now I overlay my two level 7 Red-Eyes Black Dragons!" Chester roared. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!"

"Here it comes," Elsworth said.

"I XYZ summon Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon!" Chester exclaimed.

The monster roared to life. It was just as black as the previous dragons, but it had fire spewing from different points. Shooting from the ends of its twin tails, shooting out of its wings, a mane of fire even being present on its head. It let out a second roar, every fiery area only growing hotter. It had 2800 attack points.

"I set one card and end my turn," he finally concluded.

"Be careful Elsworth," Sharma said. "This card is a solid opener."

Elsworth looked back and nodded. "Will do," he said. He turned back to Chester. "My move."

"Don't even bother," Chester taunted. "There's no way you can get past my Red-Eyes."

"We'll see," Elsworth responded. "I'll lead it off with the Trade-In spell. By discarding a level 8, I can draw 2 cards."

"Hah, you fool!" Chester exclaimed as Elsworth drew his cards. "Whenever you play a card, Red-Eyes shoots you with 500 points of damage!"

"Oh no," Elsworth grunted as a wave of fire engulfed him. He dropped to 3500 life points.

Chester kept laughing. "I hope those two cards were worth it!" he yelled.

"I'll continue my turn by activating the Return of the Dragon Lords spell!" Elsworth abruptly said. "I am now able to summon the card I discarded. Come on out, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!"

The powerful dragon appeared on the field, all of the glowing pieces of its body shining as it roared. As it appeared, another wave of fire shot at Elsworth. He dropped to a knee as his life points dropped to 3000.

"I hope that dragon was worth the 1000 life points you spent bringing it out," Chester continued. No longer laughing, but still able to taunt Elsworth.

Elsworth, however, remained unfazed. "Galaxy-Eyes, attack his Red-Eyes! Photon Stream of Destruction!"

Galaxy-Eyes opened its mouth, and shot out the bright white beam. It struck Red-Eyes in the chest, and the dragon reared its head back as it exploded. The force of the blast nearly threw Chester backwards, his life points dropping to 3800.

"Not bad," he snarled, glaring at Elsworth. "Not bad at all."

"Now that your dragon is off the field, I can summon out my Galaxy Wizard without worry," Elsworth said.

The go-to level 4 monster appeared, its long cloak whipping around in the wind created by its summon. While it had 0 attack points, Elsworth knew exactly what to do with it.

"With this monster's effect, I can change it to level 8," Elsworth announced. "Following that, I'm activating the Galaxy Storm spell."

Chester grimaced. "Of course you'd use that."

"When I XYZ summon, Galaxy Storm will hit you with 500 damage," Elsworth continued. "I think I'll show you what I mean, by overlaying my Galaxy Eyes and Wizard!"

Chester's eyes narrowed as he watched the monsters disappear into the vortex. "Does this kid have a Number like Yuma?" he asked himself.

"I XYZ summon Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand!" Elsworth shouted.

One of his go-to warriors appeared, decked out in its standard gold armor. It drew the long sword from the scabbard, and pointed it at Chester. A vortex shot out of the sword, and it blew past him. Chester's life points dropped to 3300.

"That's all from me," Elsworth announced.

"No Number, eh?" Chester asked. "This'll be easier than I thought."

 _It's too soon to bring out my Number, and Felgrand can hold his own against most monsters,_ Elsworth thought. _If this guy doesn't have a Number, I should be safe for now._

"To start, I'll activate the effect of my Black Stone of Legend from the graveyard," Chester announced. "By returning a Red-Eyes to the deck, the card returns to my hand."

Now it was Elsworth's turn to grimace. "Here it comes again."

"Once again I summon out the Black Stone of Legend!" Chester exclaimed, the dark and fiery egg appearing on the field. "And, once again I tribute it to summon the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

The black dragon appeared from the egg, once again. It roared, its 2400 points still present. It was quite clear this guy had a very powerful and consistent strategy.

"I'll follow up by activating the Return of the Red-Eyes trap!" Chester announced as he flipped up his facedown. "Since I control a Red-Eyes, I can summon my other Red-Eyes Black Dragon from the graveyard!"

Just like last time, a second Red-Eyes appeared next to the first. They roared in unison, 2400 points each. Elsworth did not look any happier; he had a good idea what was coming next.

"Two level seven monsters again," Sharma commented. "Good thing his Red-Eyes XYZ is done for."

"Go, my dragons! I overlay you to build the overlay network!" Chester shouted.

The two dragons swirled and entered the vortex once again. As they disappeared, Elsworth felt a different power, as if this XYZ monster was more powerful than the two before. Looking at Chester, he saw the number 89 on the back of his right hand.

"It can't be," Elsworth said. "Does this guy have…?"

"I XYZ summon Number 89: Computerbeast Diablosis!" Chester yelled, the 89 on his hand glowing bright.

The monster was a bright red, its main body made up of rectangular pixels. It had black and yellow armor sparsely scattered around it, notably at the chest and midsection. Two spiked balls made up the shoulder armor, and a mask covered the monster's face, its red horns sticking out the sides. Its right arm was a double-headed axe, made of the same stuff as the rest of its body. The number 89 was prominent on the right side of its body. The monster stood at 2800 attack points.

"Woah," Sharma gasped. He finally got to see a Number close up.

"So you do have a Number," Elsworth commented. "You think you can take on Yuma with that card?"

"After you see its effect, you'll believe me," Chester responded. "By removing one overlay unit from Diablosis, I can banish a card from your Extra Deck."

"What?" Elsworth was baffled.

Diablosis bit one of its overlay units as it flew by. Its two horns glowed, and shot twin beams at Elsworth's duel disc. It glowed, and a list of Elsworth's extra deck appeared in front of Chester.

"What is this?" Chester asked, seeing the cards. "It looks like you also have a Number."

"No!" Elsworth shouted.

"Elsworth has a Number too?" Sharma asked. "Why didn't he say so?"

Chester was back to laughing. "Say goodbye to Number 95!" he yelled, pointing at the card.

Elsworth was stunned. He watched as his extra deck glowed, and a single card shot out. It flew out of the disc before inserting itself into a separate slot. His eyes were wide open, still not being able to comprehend this Number's strength.

"Galaxy-Eyes…" Elsworth could hardly speak.

Chester kept laughing. "Oh man, you haven't even played your Number and already it's gone!" he yelled through the laughter. "This is going to be too easy."

 _And if this plan works, the game is mine next turn_ , Chester thought. _Let's keep this game going._

"Number 89!" Chester exclaimed. "Attack his Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand!"

Again, both horns of the demon glowed bright red. A beam shot out of each of them, the twin beams heading right at Felgrand.

"Even though Felgrand will be destroyed, at least Elsworth won't take any damage," Sharma commented.

"Not quite," Chester responded. "I'm activating the Forbidden Lance spell. Now your monster loses 800 attack points."

A holographic lance appeared in the twin beams, streaking through the sky right at Felgrand. The knight adopted a defensive stance, bracing for the hit.

"Elsworth, do something!" Sharma yelled.

"Huh? Oh right," Elsworth said, snapping back to reality. "By using one of Felgrand's overlay units, it isn't affected by your card effect."

Felgrand took its giant sword and sliced through one of the glowing orbs. The sword glowed, and Felgrand held it in front of itself, protecting it from the oncoming spear.

"Alright then, I'll just activate my Forbidden Chalice," Chester responded. "Now your monster gains 400 attack, but its effects are negated."

A cup appeared over Felgrand, and tipped over. The liquid dissolved the sword, destroying the defense. Felgrand's attack went up to 3200, but dropped to 2400 when the spear hit. The beam from Number 89 shortly followed, and Felgrand exploded on contact. The wave blew at Elsworth, who shielded his face from the blast, his life points at 2600.

"That's good, you can go on from here," Chester concluded.

Elsworth was breathing heavy, for reasons unknown to Sharma. Was this duel really that intense? Sure, Elsworth had lost access to his Number, but that couldn't possibly be the only reason.

"My move," Elsworth finally said, drawing his card. He scowled at his hand.

"Come on Elsworth!" Sharma cheered. "You know what you're fighting for!"

Elsworth looked back at Sharma and nodded. "I activate Galaxy Zero," he said. "This allows me to resummon my Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon from the grave."

Elsworth's dragon rose from the grave, and let out a mighty roar. It still had 3000 attack points, more than the Number on Chester's field.

"Due to Galaxy-Zero's effect, Galaxy-Eyes can't attack," Elsworth continued. "Because of that, my turn is over."

"Pathetic. Time to show you a real turn!" Chester yelled as he drew. "I'll start by activating the stone once again, returning it to my hand and a Red-Eyes to my deck."

"Here we go again," Elsworth muttered.

"Again, I'll summon the Black Stone of Legend. Also again, it will be tribute to summon a Red-Eyes Black Dragon from the deck!" Chester announced for the third time this duel.

The black stone appeared, and again it shattered. The massive Red-Eyes Black Dragon shot out of it, letting out another loud roar. It held 2400 attack points, and Elsworth was getting sick of seeing them. This was the 5th dragon summoned this match.

"Now I think it's time to switch things up," Chester said. "I activate the spell card, Inferno Fire Blast!"

"Oh boy," Elsworth was not looking forward to this.

"With this spell, by skipping Red-Eyes Black Dragon's attack this turn, I can turn up the heat with 2400 points of damage, all of them coming your way!" Chester yelled, laughing.

"Brace yourself Elsworth!" Sharma shouted.

Red-Eyes opened its mouth, and a wave of fire shot out. It engulfed Elsworth, who covered his face despite the fire being a hologram. The damage they dealt to his life points were real, however, as he was left with a measly 200.

"Due to that Galaxy-Zero, I can't get through that Galaxy-Eyes," Chester admitted. "However, I can still use Number 89's effect! Show me your extra deck!"

Diablosis ate the second overlay unit, and Elsworth's hand was revealed once again. Chester looked through all of the cards, but saw one that really piqued his interest.

"What's this? Another Number!" Chester exclaimed. "I think we'll get rid of Number 22: Zombiestein!"

"No!" Elsworth burst out.

"Elsworth has two Numbers?" Sharma asked. "What's even going on?"

Diablosis once again shot beams out of its horns, striking Elsworth's duel disc. Zombiestein flew out and into the banished zone. As it left, Elsworth stumbled back, out of breath. Losing his Numbers was taking a toll on him. Sharma wondered if he had the strength to keep going.

"Since that Galaxy-Eyes is too strong for me to destroy in combat, I'll end my turn," Chester announced. "Next turn will be your last, and your Numbers will be mine!"

Sharma looked over at Elsworth. "Can you keep going?"

Elsworth slowly locked his gaze on Chester. "I don't think so," he admitted. "So I'll end the game on this turn."

"What?" Sharma asked. There's no way Elsworth could turn this around.

Chester laughed loudly. "Try if you want, but I'm certain I took out both of your Numbers."

"Fortunately, I won't need them," Elsworth smirked. Chester looked confused. "My move, I draw!"

Elsworth drew, and for the first time in a while, he smiled. His smile caused Sharma to smile as well, and make Chester scowl. He said he would end the game on this turn, and he was about to keep that promise.

"Because I control a Galaxy monster, I can summon my Galaxy Knight without a tribute!" Elsworth exclaimed.

His silver-clad warrior on his signature surfboard appeared. Due to the summoning condition, it only had 1800 attack. Elsworth, naturally, was not concerned with the points, but one other feature.

"Now I overlay my level 8 Galaxy Knight and Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" Elsworth yelled, now full of energy.

Sharma's eyes went bright and wide as he watched the monsters swirl into the vortex. Chester could do nothing but worry, as he watched the energy spew out. The light and energy from this monster was like nothing he had seen before.

"With these two monsters, I can build the overlay network! I XYZ summon my true ace," Elsworth paused. "Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!"

Elsworth's rainbow-winged dragon appeared. When it roared, the air around it seemed to shake, and Chester's monsters turned away to avoid the shock. At 3000 attack points, it was as strong as Photon Dragon, but there was one key difference.

"Interesting card," Chester admitted. "It's still not a Number, so it can't destroy my Computerbeast!"

Elsworth smiled again. "Good thing I'm not destroying it.

"What?" Chester was shocked.

"First off, Galaxy Storm activates, striking you with 500 damage!" Elsworth said."

Cipher Dragon glowed, and a barrage of energy shot out of its body. It connected with Chester, who braced himself and avoided being thrown back. He now only had 3000 life points.

"But wait, there's more," Elsworth continued.

"What now?" Chester asked.

"By using an overlay unit, Cipher Dragon allows me to gain control of one of your monsters," Elsworth explained. "It'll do just that, so let's give this Computerbeast Diablosis a test drive!"

Cipher Dragon ate an overlay unit as it passed by. Its wings glowed brightly, and Diablosis's eyes went pure white. It floated up and over to Elsworth's side, now facing Chester.

"How dare you!" Chester yelled angrily.

"One more thing," Elsworth continued. "Every monster stolen becomes a copy of my Cipher Dragon."

"No!" Chester exclaimed, watching his monster morph into another Cipher Dragon, 3000 attack points and all.

"Go, Number 89! Attack Red-Eyes!" Elsworth yelled.

One of the cipher dragons flew up, and reared its head back. Looking forward, it shot a bright beam of light out of its open mouth. The shot struck Red-Eyes, who exploded as it roared. Chester shielded his eyes from the resulting explosion, dropping to 2400 life points.

"Now Cipher Dragon!" Elsworth shouted. "Attack Chester directly!"

"I can't believe it," Chester muttered.

He dropped to his knees as the blast blew past him. He fell down, unconscious, his life points dropping to 0. The monsters disappeared and the AR system shut down, Elsworth being displayed as the winner.

Elsworth also dropped to his knees, exhausted from the fight. He looked, and saw the Number 89 card in his hand. He smiled, before looking up at Sharma. He noticed his friend running towards him, but never noticed if he made it. The world started to spin, and then everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

To everyone wondering, I have not abandoned the series just yet. Recently, I decided to start working a full-time job while in my senior year of high school. Smart, right? I'm going to try and update this at least once or twice a month, so hopefully you guys will still have something to enjoy.

A couple of things before we continue. First off, thank you to StarlightSG, hcharper131 and for having me on your favorites list. I'll do everything I can in the following updates to make sure I stay there, heh.

Another thanks goes to StarlightSG for giving a review for Chapter 1. An issue was brought up regarding Felgrand's ability targeting itself, meaning it would still be affected by the Storming Mirror Force. This was an issue that one of my friends brought up as well, while I was proofreading, so let me explain it as I did back then.

Felgrand's effect states that you have to target a monster, then the targeted monster loses its effects in exchange for being unaffected by other effects. If Felgrand were to target itself, then its effects would be negated. However, since the effect is not a hanging effect (with the text "while this monster is face-up on the field" or something similar) the effect will still go through. Felgrand's effect says to target, at which point the targeted monster gains the conditions. Negating Felgrand's effects means it loses the ability to target, but previously targeted minions still keep the negated effect/unaffected by effects. The Wiki uses more official terms and whatnot, but it does agree that the effect would remain active after Felgrand's effect was negated.

If there are any other questions or comments, please feel free to leave a review or drop me a PM. But until then, let's get back into the story.

* * *

"Wake," a familiar voice called out to Elsworth.

He opened his eyes slowly, bracing himself for the light of whatever room he was in. He was instead met with almost pure darkness, extending out in every direction. The only figure was in front of him, which Elsworth remembered to be Number 95. He was back in this strange shadow world.

"What happened to me?" Elsworth asked.

"After your last duel, you were knocked unconscious after obtaining Number 89," Number 95 reminded him. "Your friend managed to get you inside, so with your body safe, I was free to communicate with you."

"I see," Elsworth said. "So where do we go from here?"

"Once your body wakes up, you must formulate a plan for collecting the rest of the Numbers," 95 responded. "You can't afford to lose consciousness after every battle."

Elsworth nodded. "I'll admit, I was pretty stressed out after losing you to that Number's effect."

"Indeed," 95 said. "You'll need to get much stronger if you hope to recover the Numbers from Yuma."

Elsworth nodded, noticing that the darkness around him was beginning to brighten.

"We'll speak again," 95 said, vanishing with the darkness.

* * *

Elsworth slowly opened his eyes again, this time being greeted with light. He looked around, and saw Sharma and Claybourne off to the side, talking. He slowly sat up, grunting as he did so. The other two heard this, and came walking over.

"Good, you're up," Sharma said, smiling.

"You look awful," Claybourne noted.

"Good to see you too," Elsworth responded, sitting up straight against the headboard. "Where am I?"

"I called Claybourne right after the duel, and he rushed us both out to his place," Sharma answered. "We're in his guest room right now."

"Thanks for that," Elsworth said. Claybourne nodded. "How long was I out for?" he asked.

"Just for the night," Claybourne responded. "You slept pretty hard, nothing even came close to waking you."

"Yeah, that duel was pretty rough," Elsworth admitted. He heard his stomach growl. "Oh jeez, after that nap I need some grub."

Sharma chuckled. "Can you walk? We can get some breakfast at the diner down the road."

Elsworth swung his feet down to the floor, and stood up slowly. Not feeling lightheaded, he nodded. "Let's do it."

* * *

The three found themselves at a booth in the diner, enjoying some fresh pancakes, eggs and bacon. (I know they're in Japan, just think of this as the white area or something) They kept the talking to a minimum, and when they talked, it was a whisper. If the public were to learn of the Numbers, who knows what could happen.

"So that Number is what beat you up so bad?" Claybourne asked. Elsworth had put the Number 89 on the table so they could see it.

"Yeah," Elsworth responded. "After it got rid of 95 from my deck, my head started to go all crazy. I think my connection to the Number is stronger than I thought."

Claybourne nodded. "So then, the goal is to get enough Numbers to challenge that Yuma kid, and get your brother's Number back?"

"That's the goal alright," Elsworth said. His brow furrowed. "I'll have to get stronger, though. I can't afford to be blacking out after each fight."

"I'm sure we'll find a way," Sharma piped up.

"You got that right," Elsworth responded. "I'll get my brother's Number back somehow."

"Excuse me," a voice said.

They turned to the side, and saw what appeared to be the chef. He stood slightly shorter than Claybourne, and had on the traditional chef's apron. He looked in his 30's, his brown hair short and uncombed. His face looked awake, but his eyes seemed tired and distant.

"The chef," Sharma said, smiling. "Thank you so much for the food."

"Not a problem," the chef said, smiling. "But please, call me Tristan."

"Of course, Tristan," Sharma continued. "Did you need something from us?"

"Did I hear you three discussing Number cards?" Tristan asked. His smile was starting to fade.

Claybourne shot a look at him. "What's it to you?" he asked.

"Clearly one of you has a Number, if you happen to know so much about it," Tristan said. "I also have a Number, so I believe you children know what I'm getting at."

"So you want a duel," Elsworth suddenly spoke up.

"More specifically, I want your Number," Tristan answered. "But if I have to duel to get it, then yes."

"Forget it," Sharma said. "Elsworth, you're in no condition to duel. Let's just leave."

"Hmm," Tristan paused.

He snapped his fingers, and two other chefs appeared. They stood on the other side of the booth, trapping them in. These two chefs were quite large, so fighting past them would not be an option. On the other side stood Tristan, and if he was possessed by a Number, it would be best to keep their distance.

"This is how it must be," he continued. "Consider it the price of the meal." The familiar red aura was starting to glow around him, so it was clear that he was being controlled by his Number.

"But Elsworth can't-" Sharma started.

"Forget Elsworth," Claybourne spoke up. Everyone looked at him, and he focused his gaze on Tristan. "If you want a duel, duel me."

"Claybourne?" Sharma and Elsworth asked.

"You?" Tristan also asked. "Do you have a Number as well?"

"How about we find out," Claybourne said, standing up.

An evil smile crept onto Tristan's face. "You're on," he replied.

"Does he really have a Number?" Elsworth asked himself, as the group went out the backdoor.

* * *

They stood in the back alley, Claybourne standing across from Tristan. Sharma and Elsworth had the two other chefs on either side of them, preventing them from escaping easily. They threw on their Duel Gazers as the duelists activated their duel discs. Elsworth couldn't help but notice that Claybourne didn't have as much intensity in his eyes as usual. It was clear that he was nervous about his decision.

"I think it's time we do this," Tristan said.

Claybourne looked up, and nodded. "Let's get to it."

"Duel!" they both shouted, the VR coming to life.

"Has Claybourne ever seen a Number in action?" Elsworth asked. Sharma shook his head. _Then this is going to be rough,_ Elsworth thought.

"I'll start us off," Claybourne said as he drew. "I'll activate the Trade-In spell card, allowing me to draw 2 cards at the cost of discarding a level 8 monster."

"That's a card you use often, right Elsworth?" Sharma asked. Elsworth looked over and nodded. Trade-In was a great card for their decks, and it was definitely the reason Elsworth had won past duels.

"I'll continue with the Silver's Cry spell," Claybourne announced. "Because the card I discarded earlier was a Normal monster, I can summon it now."

"You're going to bring out a level 8 on your first turn?" Tristan asked.

"You bet I am," Claybourne said. "With Silver's Cry, I now summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my graveyard!"

The dark circle leading towards the monster graveyard opened, and a bolt of white lightning shot out. It arced high in the sky, before crashing down behind Claybourne, revealing his dragon. Its pure white scales seemed to glow in the morning light, and the roar it produced shook the air. It had a powerful 3000 attack points.

"Well then," Tristan said, sneering. "Not bad, kid."

"You have no idea," Claybourne responded. "But for now, I'll end my turn."

"Great move Claybourne!" Sharma cheered.

"Don't start cheering just yet," Tristan commented. "I haven't had my chance to show off."

"Then let's get to it," Claybourne said.

"With pleasure," Tristan responded as he drew. "I summon Goblindbergh."

The little green goblin came flying in on his red plane, the propeller on the front spinning and making a lot of noise. The plane had a large crate hanging off the underside, which it continued to tow as it did laps around the field. It displayed 1400 attack points.

"An astute duelist like you should know that Goblindbergh lets me summon an additional minion," Tristan continued. "So now I'll summon Heroic Challenger – Extra Sword."

The green armor-clad warrior fell out of the crate. It had spikes on its shoulders, and white highlights on the knees and across the chestplates. It drew two swords and pointed them both at Blue-Eyes, before dropping its arms. It had 1000 attack points.

"Also, since I Normal summoned earlier this turn, I can summon Kagetokage from my hand," Tristan announced.

The flat, black lizard creeped out from the shadows, its red eyes floating above its head. It had 1100 attack points.

"Is that all?" Claybourne asked. "A bunch of weak monsters?"

"Don't consider them as monsters, think of them as ingredients to a very potent dish," Tristan responded. "Would you like to meet the chef?"

"He's talking about the Number," Sharma guessed. Elsworth nodded and grimaced. "Be careful Claybourne!"

"Let's do this," Claybourne said flatly.

"Very well! I overlay my level 4 Goblindbergh and Extra Sword!" Tristan exclaimed. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!"

The two monsters became balls of light and flew up. The vortex appeared on the ground, and the lights raced into it. The vortex exploded in a brilliant light show as the monster jumped out.

"I XYZ summon Number 59: Crooked Cook!" Tristan cried out.

The monster had brown clothes with silver armor on top. It had various cooking tools hanging from its belt, along with a large hat on its head. On its right arm, a flamethrower was attached to the wrist. A flaming pan was held in the left hand. The chef had 2300 attack points.

"So there's the Number," Elsworth commented. "He didn't waste any time bringing it out."

"You'll find that my cook has a few secret ingredients in his recipe for success," Tristan said, a sinister smile on his face. "For starters, Extra Sword grants him an additional 1000 attack points."

Claybourne's brow furrowed further as the Number's attack points increased to 3300.

"That card's strong enough to take out Claybourne's Blue-Eyes," Sharma commented. Elsworth could only nod, nervous for his friend.

"Next, I think he'll start cooking with his special ability," Tristan said. "By using an overlay unit, the other cards on my field get added to the cook's special brew!"

One of the overlay units swirling around 59 flew into the pan. Kagetokage walked over, and also jumped into the pan, the fire raising as the lizard jumped in. Sharma and Elsworth looked visibly stunned.

"What did that accomplish?" Claybourne asked.

"For each monster that gets added to the brew, Crooked Cook gains 300 attack points!" Tristan answered. "And it's going to put them all to good use, by attacking your Blue-Eyes!"

Crooked Cook pointed its flamethrower towards Blue-Eyes, and let loose the fires. It engulfed the dragon, who let out a cry before exploding. The flames blew past Claybourne, who shielded his face as his life points dropped to 3400.

"I think you've had enough for now, so I'll end my turn." Victor smiled, satisfied.

"Wait, if his plan was to just attack, why did he get rid of his other monster before?" Sharma asked.

"The Number is controlling him," Elsworth answered. "It may not make optimal moves, but that Number is so powerful that it might not matter."

Sharma turned back to face Claybourne. "Be careful," he muttered.

"It's my move," Claybourne said, seeming almost unfazed from the last move. He drew his card. "I'll start things off with The Melody of Awakening Dragon. By discarding a card, I can add a pair of dragons to my hand."

"Grab as many dragons as you want," Tristan sneered as Claybourne sifted through his deck. "My Cook will fry them all."

Claybourne ignored him. "Next, because the card I discarded was the White Stone of Legend, I can add an additional Blue-Eyes White Dragon to my hand," he continued.

"That's a lot of dragons," Sharma commented.

Elsworth nodded. "Claybourne loves to fight up front and in your face, so I doubt he'll run out of dragons any time soon."

"I think it's time to see how my dragons match up against your Cook," Claybourne said.

Tristan sneered. "It's your funeral, kid."

"We'll see about that." Claybourne responded. "Since I have a Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand, I can summon the Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon right away!"

Another white dragon appeared, but this one had a slight silver tint on its scales. Its design was the same as its twin, and the roar it released had the same intensity. Furthermore, it also had 3000 attack points.

"A Blue-Eyes that he can bring out instantly," Sharma said in awe. "No wonder he's going pro." Elsworth nodded, and watched.

"Next, I'll use my dragon's ability," Claybourne stated. "By giving up its attack this turn, I can destroy a monster on the field."

"Nice!" Sharma exclaimed. "That'll take out Tristan's Number."

"Just try it," Tristan responded.

"Will do," Claybourne said. "Blue-Eyes, destroy his Crooked Cook!"

The dragon opened its mouth, and a burst of white light shot out of its mouth. It collided with Tristan's Number, and engulfed in in brightness. Sharma could be heard cheering on the side, and even Claybourne allowed himself a small smile. That smile quickly faded when he saw that Crooked Cook was still on the field, its attack points still the same.

"Hah, not even close," Tristan mocked. "Since Crooked Cook is the only card on my field, it isn't destroyed by your effects."

Claybourne grimaced. "I end my turn."

"Claybourne," Elsworth muttered. "That Number's too powerful. He should've let me take this duel."

"Your Number is mine!" Tristan exclaimed as he drew. "I think I'll start with my Armageddon Knight."

The warrior appeared, dressed in dark samurai armor. Its red cape also wrapped around the lower half of its face, contrasting with its long, black hair. It had 1400 attack points.

"When I summon this knight, I have to compost a Dark monster in my deck," Tristan explained. "Now, I activate my Crooked Cook's effect, so let's get cooking!"

The second overlay unit flew into Crooked Cook's pan, and Armageddon Knight jumped in shortly after. The flames shot up, and the Cook cackled maniacally. Its attack points jumped up to 3600.

"Here we go again," Claybourne muttered.

"Crooked Cook, roast his dragon again!" Tristan commanded.

The Number raised its arm-mounted flamethrower, and the flames shot out at Blue-Eyes. Again, it let out a shriek as it was engulfed in the flames. The fire shot past Claybourne, and he shielded his face again as his life points dropped to 2800.

"This is too easy," Tristan said. "I don't even have to do anything else to beat you, so I'll end my turn there."

"Hang in there Claybourne," Sharma shouted, though a lot of the enthusiasm in his voice was gone.

Elsworth could hardly watch. _Even if he could make a bigger monster, a Number has to be destroyed by another Number. Claybourne can't get around that effect since Tristan's Number is safe from other effects. This is looking grim._

"It's my move," Claybourne stated, drawing.

"You're really continuing the duel?" Tristan asked. "It's hopeless. There's no way you can get through my Cook."

Claybourne ignored this comment as well. "I'll start off with the spell card Soul Charge," he explained. "Now, at the cost of 1000 life points, I can resummon the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my graveyard."

Claybourne's life points dropped to 1800. As it did, the familiar dragon shot out of the graveyard once again. It settled behind Claybourne, still baring the menacing 3000 attack points.

"I hope you remembered that Soul Charge doesn't let you battle this turn," Tristan mocked. "So much for fighting my Cook!"

"I'm not finished. Next, I'm summoning the Sage with Eyes of Blue," Claybourne continued.

The Sage was covered in white and blue armor. It had multiple different designs, and a series of ribbons pouring out of its cape. While it pointed its scepter valiantly at Tristan, the monster had 0 attack points.

"When I summon the Sage, I can add another level 1 Tuner to my hand, like my White Stone of Ancients," Claybourne explained.

"Another Tuner?" Sharma asked. "Is Claybourne trying to…"

"Yeah," Elsworth answered. "Claybourne wasn't ever a fan of XYZ monsters. He prefers to stick to the older methods, which is why he likes his simple Blue-Eyes beatdown."

"Hah!" Tristan laughed. "Your pathetic monsters can't stop Crooked Cook."

"On their own, you're right," Claybourne told the oblivious Tristan. "So let's see what happens when my Sage gives Blue-Eyes a quick tuning!"

The two monsters soared into the air. Tristan could only watch as Sage morphed into a green ring that Blue-Eyes flew into. The dragon separated into 8 stars, forming a single line within the ring. A brilliant beam of light shot through the ring and 8 stars, indicating the summoning of a level 9 monster.

"He's actually going to do it!" Sharma exclaimed, the excitement back in his voice.

"I Synchro Summon my Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon!" Claybourne announced.

This dragon was much larger than the previous ones. Its body was also transparent, except for its piercing blue eyes. It did not roar like the other dragons; it simply floated down and landed behind Claybourne like the others. It had 3000 defense points.

"I end my turn," Claybourne stated.

"Not bad, but it won't save you!" Tristan declared, drawing again.

"Pay attention here Sharma," Elsworth explained. "I feel like Claybourne is about to get into his groove."

"I hope so," Sharma responded, still very nervous.

"Time to wipe that dragon out of existence. I'm activating the Monster Reborn spell," Tristan said. "I'm now summoning back the Summoner Monk that my Armageddon Knight evicted from the deck."

The blue-skinned monk appeared, donning its white and dark blue robes. Its hood was up, showing the red gemstone on it, letting its long white hair spill out the front of the cloak. It had 1600 defense points.

"Now with Summoner Monk's effect, by discarding a spell card, I can summon back Armageddon Knight from my graveyard," Tristan continued.

"Is that all you've got?" Claybourne asked as the knight rose from the graveyard.

"You wish," Tristan replied. All of the excitement and energy was lost. "I activate the Overlay Regen spell, giving my Crooked Cook another overlay unit."

"Elsworth, why is Tristan acting so emotionless?" Sharma asked.

"The Number must have drained his energy," Elsworth answered. "This duel has taken a lot out of him."

"Finally, I'm activating the Heated Heart spell," Tristan said. "This gives my Crooked Cook an additional 500 attack points, as well as the ability to pierce through your monster's defenses."

The fire continued to grow around Crooked Cook, giving it a total of 3800 attack points. Claybourne didn't seem worried.

"Elsworth…" Sharma said nervously.

"We need to have faith in him," Elsworth responded. "He's offered to fight this duel for me, so we have to believe in him."

Sharma paused, then nodded. "Alright, I believe you."

"Number 59: Crooked Cook!" Tristan yelled. "Attack his Spirit Dragon!"

"Let's go Claybourne!" Sharma suddenly shouted.

"I'm on it," Claybourne responded. "I activate the effect of my Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon, allowing me to sacrifice it!"

Crooked Cook shot the flames out of its flamethrower, but the dragon vanished before the fire could hit it. This left Tristan with a very confused look, unsure of what Claybourne just accomplished.

"Because I sacrificed it, I can summon out another Synchro monster," Claybourne announced. "So now I think I'll show off my Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon!"

This dragon was a bright silver, not white like its counterparts. Its darker blue eyes stood out against its bright body, and set its piercing gaze on Crooked Cook. Like the previous dragon, it had 3000 defense points.

"When I bring out Azure-Eyes, it cannot be destroyed the turn it's summoned," Claybourne explained. "So I'm safe from your monster onslaught."

"Claybourne lives to fight another turn!" Sharma cheered.

"I'll beat you yet," Tristan said. "I activate Number 59's ability again, so let's turn up the heat!"

For the third time, Crooked Cook sent an overlay unit into the pan, and the rest of Tristan's field along with it. His monster's attack points grew until they hit 4400.

"Attack again, Crooked Cook!" Tristan exclaimed. "Burn that dragon to a crisp!"

The flames shot out towards Claybourne's dragon, and this time they connected. The beast roared, but stayed on the field due to its effect. The flames still shot at Claybourne, who shielded his face again as his life points dropped to 400.

"This is too easy," Tristan commented. "I'm done for now."

"Whew, he survived," Sharma sighed. Elsworth nodded, still smiling.

"It's my move," Claybourne said. "Draw."

As he picked up his card, he stared at it for a bit. Sharma started to grow nervous, seeing Claybourne's hesitation. Was Elsworth wrong? Did Claybourne not have to comeback that he needed?

"I activate Cards of Consonance," Claybourne declared. "By discarding the White Stone of Ancients in my hand, I can draw another two cards."

He picked up these two cards, and Sharma finally saw the slight smile on Claybourne's face. "Show him how it's done Claybourne!" he exclaimed.

Claybourne smiled and nodded at Sharma. "You got it." He turned his attention back to Tristan. "I'm activating the spell card Chaos Form."

Tristan looked confused. "What is that?"

"It's a ritual spell," Claybourne explained. "By discarding cards with the correct level, I can summon out a personal favourite of mine."

"He's going to Ritual summon?" Sharma asked, astounded.

Elsworth smiled and nodded. "I had a feeling that Claybourne had something crafty planned."

"I discard my level 8 Blue-Eyes White Dragon to summon this!" Claybourne announced. "Come on out, Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon!"

Blue flames formed a circle in front of Claybourne. A pillar of those flames shot up out of the center, slowly taking the form of a dragon. They shifted into actual scales, made of a brilliant blue. Its eyes remained blue, blending in with the rest of its body. It let out a vicious roar, its 4000 attack points on full display.

"T-that thing's huge!" Tristan shrieked, the energy back in his voice.

"So that's what he had planned," Sharma said. Elsworth smiled and nodded.

"If you thought you were out of trouble, you clearly didn't see the other card that I drew," Claybourne continued. "Allow me to show you the power of my Dragon's Mirror."

"Oh no, what now?" Tristan asked.

"By banishing dragons in my graveyard, I can use them to Fusion summon!" Claybourne had energy in his voice now, confident that his play would work. "I banish the two Blue-Eyes White Dragons and the Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon from my graveyard!"

"He's going to Fusion summon Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Sharma cheered.

"Not quite," Elsworth commented. "I have a feeling that he has something much bigger in mind."

"Time to put a new twist on an old move," Claybourne said. "By combining these three monsters, I Fusion summon Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

Another blue dragon shot onto the field. This one had much more defined edges, as well as three separate heads. Each one let out a roar in turn, resulting in three times as much power. The monster had an amazing 4500 attack points.

"That card is amazing!" Sharma could hardly control his excitement.

"Bah, it doesn't matter," Tristan commented. "You still can't destroy my Number without a Number of your own."

"No, but I can destroy you instead," Claybourne responded.

"What?" Tristan asked.

"By sending two other dragon type Fusion monsters to the graveyard, my Neo Blue-Eyes can attack and additional two times," Claybourne said as he removed the other two Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragons from his Extra Deck.

"This is impossible!" Tristan shrieked.

"Go Neo Blue-Eyes! Attack his Crooked Cook three times!" Claybourne declared. "Don't hold back!"

All three of the dragon's heads opened their mouths. Each one shot out a burst of blue light, centered on the Number. They each collided at the same time, producing a brilliant explosion of blue light. The force of the blast hit Tristan, who flew backwards and landed on his back, his life points dropping to 400.

"Now you go, Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon!" Claybourne continued. "Attack his Number and end this duel!"

The other dragon opened its mouth and shot out a fourth stream of blue light. This one also struck the Number directly, causing another burst of bright light. The blast flew straight past Tristan, whose life points had hit 0. The VR faded as the monsters disappeared, Claybourne being displayed as the winner.

The two larger chefs went over to Tristan, while Elsworth and Sharma made their way over to Claybourne, who held the Number 59 in his hand. He stared at it, trying to make sense of the card.

"Great duel Claybourne!" Sharma exclaimed.

Claybourne smiled. "Eh, it was nothing." He turned to Elsworth and held out the Number. "You should probably hold onto this."

"Thanks," Elsworth responded as he took the Number. "You didn't have to fight for me, I'm sure I could've taken that guy."

"I wanted to see just how powerful those Numbers were," Claybourne admitted. "Now I know just what you're up against, so I think I can help you a bit better."

Elsworth chuckled. "You're always trying to get stronger, huh?

Claybourne smiled back. "You bet. Now let's get out of here, I have a plan I think you guys might want to hear."

Elsworth and Sharma nodded, and the trio made their way out.

* * *

"It seems there's another Number hunter on the loose," a mysterious figure said. At the table with him were four other unknown figures.

"That Yuma kid? He's nothing," the person on his left spoke up.

"No, not Yuma," the first person replied. "The other one, that Elsworth kid."

"What about him?" another person asked.

"His Number seems to be a special one, and I believe it could make quite the addition," the first person said. He looked at the person on his right. "You think you're up for the challenge?"

The man cackled. "Oh, I'm up for it, just you wait." He turned and left, laughing as he exited the room.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, I'm still alive. Originally, the plan was to upload at least once a month, but stuff happened. I'm going to try and actually stick to that idea for the next few chapters, so fingers crossed.

Before we begin, thank you to the anonymous reviewer from last chapter. Your words are much appreciated. If any of you have any criticisms, thoughts or even requests (such as what Number you'd like to see featured next) feel free to drop a review. I'm sort of making this series up as I go, so there's lots of room for flexibility.

Alright enough rambling, let's jump back in.

* * *

It had been a couple days since Claybourne's duel against a Number, and the effects had finally worn off. Nobody could tell because of how composed he kept himself during the duel, but it was obvious afterwards. He slept a lot less each night, and didn't really say much to the other two for a couple of days. He was finally feeling better, however, so the crew was ready to move onto the next step.

"Hold on, what are you saying Sharma?" Claybourne asked. They were back in his house, which would be their base of operations for the time being.

"What I'm saying, is that perhaps there's a way to find the Numbers without having their owners jumping all over us," Sharma responded.

"I like that idea," Elsworth noted. "Please, explain."

"Well, we know that the Numbers have a very unique energy to them. Claybourne, you probably felt that energy during your last duel, and I know Elsworth knows about it." The two nodded. "Perhaps, if there was another Number duel, I could record the energy data and use it to find other Numbers."

Sharma was a huge tech enthusiast. He always loved using his machinery to do fun experiments, most of which involved energy. He built his own solar panels, and used them a fair amount to power his computers. If anyone knew how to pull off this crazy idea, it would be Sharma.

"You really think that'll work?" Claybourne asked.

"Who cares if it works or not," Elsworth interjected. "I need to find the rest of the Numbers, so any help is great."

Claybourne nodded. "You're right," he said. "Sharma, you think you have the tech to do this?"

"The energy emitted by those things is pretty substantial, so I doubt I'll have a problem getting a read," he concluded.

"Then it's settled," Elsworth said. "Thanks, Sharma."

"All good man," he responded. "You two should probably head down to the school, I bet they'd like to have you guys around."

Claybourne and Elsworth looked at each other, then nodded. The three of them left Claybourne's house, and went their separate ways.

* * *

Shortly following that large tournament held at the school was a two-week break. After these two weeks, the World Duel Carnival was scheduled to begin, and people entered in that would have additional time off. The top three at that tournament, including Elsworth and Claybourne, were given automatic acceptance into the WDC. Students had taken these couple of weeks to go down to the school, which remained open, to practice.

The two made their way into the open courtyard, and put on their duel gazers. Immediately, their vision was filled with duels going on left and right. Overhead was a screen, showing the top three finishers at the previous tournament. Elsworth's face was clearly shown over Claybourne, who had become used to winning tournaments at the school. Another group of students happened to notice this as well.

"Hey Claybourne," one of them shouted at him. "How does it feel to be number two?"

Claybourne sighed, then looked at Elsworth. He simply shook his head. Claybourne turned back to the group. "Come heckle me when one of you gets your name up there."

The group started laughing. "How about a duel, so we know you're not getting soft on us," another one asked.

Claybourne looked at Elsworth again. "You mind if I go take care of this?" he asked.

Elsworth smiled. "Go knock some sense into those kids."

Claybourne nodded, before turning and walking towards the group. They laughed and cheered as he approached, and they walked off to go duel. Elsworth sighed, now alone. He looked back up and saw the screen once again. His name, at the top, for everyone to see. If his plan was to succeed, he would need to keep his name at the top.

"Hey, Elsworth?" a voice asked. Apparently his loneliness wouldn't last.

He turned to face the speaker, a student, one year below him. "Hey, what's up?"

"It's our captain, Clarence," the kid responded. "He's dueling right now, but acting really strange."

Clarence was the captain of the Chess Club at the school. Due to the institution's high intelligence level, the Chess Club was a very prominent club, but very few students found success in both it and dueling. Clarence was one of these people. He was very logical, calculated, but lacked the ability to adapt well. He rarely dueled, especially when the students here were all training for the WDC.

"What do you mean, strange?" Elsworth asked.

"He's getting really aggressive, not staying as calculated as he usually is. Maybe you know what's going on?" the kid asked.

"He's probably just getting really into the duel," Elsworth said. "But I'll come watch, it sounds intense."

The two made their way over to where the duel was taking place. Sure enough, Clarence was up there, doing fairly well in the duel. He had a fairly substantial life point advantage, although the field was empty. Elsworth noticed that even the way he stood seemed aggressive, leaning forward and having a very intense facial expression. Perhaps the WDC had given him a new outlook on dueling.

"I'll throw one card facedown, then end my turn," his opponent declared, chucking a card on to the field.

"Hey Clarence, I'm back," the kid called.

Clarence looked over. "Oh, hey." He looked over at Elsworth. "I see you brought our grand champion with you."

Elsworth nodded. "How's the duel going?" he asked.

Clarence put on a somewhat evil smile. "Oh, it's going just great," he responded. "You're just in time for the best part."

"Are we going to duel or not?" his opponent called.

Clarence turned back to him and chuckled. "Alright then. I draw!"

Elsworth crossed his arms, and watched. What was so interesting about this duel? Perhaps he would find out here.

"I summon my Shogi Knight!" Clarence announced, throwing the monster down.

The knight was actually a centaur, its horse half extending out the bottom of its red armor. A white cloth was draped across the front, with small yellow tassels hanging off it. Its face was covered by a Japanese chess piece, while its long, white hair was left free to flow behind it. The centaur had 800 attack points.

"When my knight steps out onto the board, it captures one of your facedown cards and sends it to the graveyard," Chester said. "Say goodbye to your facedown!"

The centaur charged at the card, which flipped over to reveal Storming Mirror Force. Its sword cut right through the card, which shattered into pieces as the centaur jumped away. The opponent's field was now empty.

"Storming Mirror Force, huh?" Clarence asked. He looked at Elsworth. "Looks like it can't fool either of us, eh?"

Elsworth nodded. "Nice monster."

"It gets better. Now that my Shogi Knight destroyed a card, I get to add the Shogi Lance to the board!" Clarence said.

It was a wheel, with lances sticking through various holes. At the center of it all was another Japanese chess piece, with different characters. The wheel rotated slowly clockwise, the piece floating in front of it. The wheel had 500 attack points.

"Are we here to duel or play chess?" his opponent asked.

"Oh we'll duel," Clarence responded. "Thanks to my Shogi Lance's effect, both it and my Shogi Knight become the same Levels as their two Levels combined."

"Since they're both Level 3, they'll both become Level 6 monsters," Elsworth noted. "Interesting."

"Are you prepared?" Clarence asked. "I now overlay my Level 6 Shogi Knight and Shogi Lance!"

The two monsters formed balls of brown light, before shooting up into the sky. The Overlay Network appeared, and the two balls rushed down into it. Clarence's opponent stared at the vortex, anxiously awaiting what would come out.

"With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network, and XYZ summon!" Clarence turned over to Elsworth. "I think you'll like this one."

Elsworth's brow furrowed. _What does he mean, 'I'll like this one?'_

"I think this match is at Checkmate," Clarence declared. "Let's seal the deal, Number 72: Shogi Rook!"

The red and yellow machine took its place on the field. It stood on a singular point, coming out the bottom of its torso. Multiple appendages jutted out just above it, and the body transitioned to a skinny midsection. The chest area swelled out, with the number 72 across the left plate. It had a single eye on its cone shaped head, with two spinning saws on each arm. It had 2500 attack points.

Elsworth's eyes widened. "He's got a Number?" he asked himself.

"Alright Shogi Rook! Attack him directly, and end this match!" Clarence yelled out.

The monster threw its saws at the opponent. The holograms passed through him, and he dropped to his knees as his life points hit 0. The AR disappeared as everyone took off their Duel Gazers. Clarence turned and walked towards Elsworth, while his opponent sulked away.

"So, pretty good, eh?" Clarence asked.

"That was," Elsworth paused, not sure what to say. "That was a solid turn, Clarence."

"Yeah, I thought you'd like that," he responded. "What do you think of my Number?"

"It's, uh," Elsworth had no idea where he was going with this.

"It's pretty awesome. Say, I heard you have a Number as well," Clarence said.

Now Elsworth got serious. "What do you know about Numbers?" he asked.

"Only that they're amazing," Clarence responded. "And I think that having yours would be even better."

Elsworth frowned. "Are you saying you want my Number?"

"Let's duel for it," Clarence proposed. "This evening, right here. You win, and I'll give you my Number."

"You're on," Elsworth answered.

"Great. I'll see you then." The number 72 flashed on Clarence's hand, and the purple aura was slightly visible as he walked away.

Elsworth stared at him as he left, then pulled out his own Number. He knew that he had the strength to win, but something felt different. It was obvious that the Number had already started to control Clarence, which was unsettling. These Numbers had to be eradicated, before they affected somebody closer to him.

"Hey Elsworth," Claybourne called, running back.

"Oh, hey," Elsworth responded.

"I gave those kids a pretty sound thrashing," Claybourne chuckled. "How was the duel?"

Elsworth paused. "Let's go find Sharma," he said.

* * *

It was later that evening, and our triad of teenagers were walking back to the school. Elsworth had informed them of the situation, so they rallied back at Sharma's place. He gathered up his equipment, and they made their way back to the designated meeting place. The sun hadn't gone down quite yet, casting an orange glow on the streets as they walked.

"I wonder how Clarence got his hands on a Number," Sharma said.

"It doesn't matter," Elsworth responded. "I have to win this."

"He was just wondering," Claybourne said. "Chill out, man."

Elsworth said nothing. _I can't afford to chill out,_ he thought. _My life has already been affected by these Numbers. I can't let this happen to other people._

"Is this the meeting spot?" Claybourne asked.

"Yeah, he should be right around here," Elsworth responded.

Suddenly, they heard a scream, and a loud noise follow it. It came from just on the other side of a nearby building. Without hesitation, the trio ran in the direction of the noise, wondering what it could've been. When they turned the corner, they were greeted with Clarence lying down on his back, grimacing. His apparent opponent stood a few meters away, duel disc still activated.

The man was literally a clown, from the face up. Bright white makeup, extreme red and greens, with a red wig and nose. He wore a black cloak, however, that made his outfit look all sorts of mismatched. He had a goofy smile on his face, and he lowered his duel disc to talk.

"Heya friends," he called. "You're this guy's buddies?"

"I was supposed to duel him," Elsworth responded. "You took my duel."

"You had no chance, this youngster had himself a Number, see?" the clown held out Clarence's Number.

Sharma's eyes widened. "That clown took Clarence's Number!"

"Hold on," the clown said. "You mean that wasn't Elsworth?"

Elsworth shook his head. "I'm Elsworth," he told the clown.

He started laughing hysterically. "Whoopsie," he said in between laughs. "Ok, I'll duel you next."

"You're on," Elsworth said, whipping out and activating his duel disc.

"Hehe, my boss will be so over the moon when he learns that I took out the real clown around here," the clown chuckled as he re-activated his own duel disc.

"Wait, your boss?" Elsworth asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Hmm," the clown hummed. "I don't think your buddies need to be here for this."

"We're not going anywhere Elsworth," Sharma stated flatly. Claybourne nodded.

"No, guys, it's ok," Elsworth reassured them. "Go get Clarence to safety."

"You sure about this?" Claybourne asked.

Elsworth nodded. "I'll be fine. Get Clarence away from here."

Claybourne paused for a second. "Alright, but you better not lose."

Sharma and Claybourne picked up the unconscious Clarence, and walked away with him. Elsworth turned back to the cackling clown, and threw on his duel gazer. The AR booted up, and the player's life points flashed above their heads.

"Let's duel!" they shouted in unison.

"So, who are you, clown?" Elsworth asked.

"Oh, you'll find out once this duel gets really fun," the clown said, a more sinister tone. "I'll start the duel off, and who better to start with than Peten the Dark Clown!"

The clown had makeup similar to the duelist, but no red nose. It had the same flamboyant colors on its clothes as any other clown, but this clown sported a bright red hat. Its long, purple hair continued to spill out from behind the hat, and its yellow eyes fixated their gaze on Elsworth. It had 1200 defense points.

"I think I'll throw one card facedown, then it's your move," the clown said, all hints of clown-like humor gone.

"It's my move then," Elsworth said as he drew a card.

He took a quick look at his hand. _If this clown was able to beat Clarence, then he must have some serious Number action going on,_ Elsworth thought. _I'm going to need to go on the offensive if I want to keep him controlled._

"I'm starting off with my Galaxy Wizard," Elsworth declared. His favorite wizard descended onto the field, with 0 attack points.

"That's it," the clown said. "Show me your strength."

"Galaxy Wizard's effect allows it to gain four levels," Elsworth explained as his wizard jumped to Level 8. "This allows me to activate my Galaxy Expedition. This lets me throw my Galaxy Knight onto the field."

Galaxy Wizard pointed its wand off to the side, and a portal appeared at the end of it. Galaxy Knight came shooting out on its hoverboard, doing a loop before it settled. It drew its sword, and bared its 2800 attack points.

"Galaxy Knight, attack his Peten the Dark Clown!" Elsworth commanded.

The Knight pointed its sword at Peten, then rushed forward on the hoverboard. It raised its sword, then sent it straight through the clown as it rushed ahead. Peten put on a horrified expression as it shattered into pieces.

"When you destroy my Peten, I can banish it from the graveyard to summon another one straight from my deck," the clown said. Another Peten the Dark Clown took the field, also in defense mode.

Elsworth grimaced. "Now that the battle is over, I activate my Galaxy Storm spell. Due to this card, you'll take 500 points of damage everytime I XYZ summon."

The clown grinned. "That's it, show me your Number."

"I overlay my Level 8 Galaxy Knight and Wizard," Elsworth announced. "I XYZ Summon my Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!"

His two monsters disappeared inside balls of yellow light, before swirling into the Overlay Network. Elsworth's Cipher Dragon shot out, its magnificent wings glowing all sorts of different colors. Its roar made Peten look horrified, as did its 3000 attack points. As the dragon descended, a burst of light shot out of Elsworth's Galaxy Storm card, colliding with the clown and dropping his life points to 3500

"I'll end my turn there," Elsworth stated.

"Nice and up front," the clown commented. "Just like my boss said you'd be."

"Your boss?" Elsworth asked. "Who's your boss?"

"Let's just say, the group I'm with also collects Numbers, like you," the clown explained. "We've been monitoring you ever since you got your first Number."

"You've been… monitoring me?" Elsworth asked.

"Let's continue the duel," the clown said, drawing. "To start, I'm activating Burial from a Different Dimension."

"That'll put his other Peten back in his graveyard," Elsworth guessed.

"I'll continue with Monster Reborn," the clown announced. "Let's welcome back another Peten to take center stage." As he said this, a second Peten appeared, and they looked at each other and giggled.

"He's got two Level 3 monsters," Elsworth noted. "Here comes an XYZ summon."

"I build the overlay network with my pair of Petens!" the clown exclaimed. "With these two monsters, I can build the Overlay Network!"

Both Petens turned into balls of dark purple light. They spun up and around each other, as the Overlay Network opened up below. Elsworth watched intently as the lights flew into the vortex, bracing himself for the clown's XYZ monster.

"I'll make you regret ever finding that Number," the clown said with a sinister grin. "Make way for Number 49: Fortune Tune!"

A plump, blue bird flew out of the vortex. The tips of its wings faded to black, while the blue got lighter as it approached the body. It had a white midsection, back, and face under the eyes. A tuft of red feathers poked out the back, with a pair of trinkets coming out of the same area. The bird flew to the ground, and landed. It had 900 defense points.

Elsworth's brow furrowed. "That monster's not very strong," he commented. "What's its deal?"

"You'll find out soon enough," the clown said, throwing a card facedown. "Your move."

Elsworth stopped himself from drawing. _There's no way that monster can be that weak and not have some special ability,_ he thought. _The question is, do I play it safe or get it off the field quickly?_

He made up his mind. "My move," he said.

"Hey Elsworth," Claybourne called from behind him.

Elsworth turned around to see him and Sharma returning. "You got Clarence out of here?" he asked

"Yeah, a couple of his teammates were pretty close by," Sharma explained. "We couldn't miss this duel, so we ran right back."

Elsworth smiled. "Thanks guys."

"If you don't duel, you'll make this poor clown cry," the clown mocked, putting on a sad face. "You wouldn't want that, would you?" He ended that question with a snicker.

"Fine, let's duel," Elsworth responded, facing the clown.

"Take him down," Claybourne said, as he and Sharma moved off to the side.

"To start things off, I'm activating Cipher Dragon's special ability," Elsworth announced. "By removing an overlay unit, I gain control of one of your monsters."

One of the overlay units shot towards Cipher Dragon's mouth, who opened to accept it. The overlay unit, however, flew right past the dragon's mouth, and continued to circle around it. Cipher Dragon looked around, confused, as did Elsworth.

"That was unexpected," Elsworth admitted.

"My little bird has a nice protection from your effects," the clown said. "Since it can't be touched by your dragon, its effect won't activate."

"Not bad," Elsworth responded.

"Do it the old fashioned way, Elsworth," Claybourne called from the sidelines.

Elsworth smiled. "Will do." He turned back to the clown. "I rebuild the overlay network with Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!"

The clown smiled back. "Do it," he muttered.

"With this one monster, I can XYZ summon the beast born from the unknown reaches of the cosmos!" Elsworth announced. "Made of the very substance that destroys all matter, this monster's simple presence will tear this duel to shreds!"

"Here it comes," both Sharma and the clown said, with equal enthusiasm.

"Brace yourself for Number 95: Galaxy-Eyes Dark Matter Dragon!" Elsworth shouted.

Everything went dark. The number 95 glowed faintly in front of Elsworth, mostly covered by the fog. It slowly got brighter, revealing his dragon's midsection. The rest of the dragon took form, until the powerful dragon was visible. It let out a dull roar, which pierced through the darkness and returned everything to normal. The dragon had 4000 attack points.

"Oh yes, very nice indeed," the clown said. "The boss'll love this one."

"I think you should focus on yourself for now," Elsworth responded. "Galaxy Storm hits you for another 500 points."

Another beam of light struck the clown, and he staggered back a bit as his life points dropped to 3000.

"Number 95, attack Number 49 with Dark Matter Storm of Destruction!" Elsworth demanded.

The clown moved into action. "By removing one overlay unit from Fortune Tune, it survives combat!"

The dark matter storm that Number 95 created rained down towards the clown's field. Fortune Tune tucked its head under its wing, and all the dark matter fell around it. The result was a tiny ring not affected by dark matter, with Fortune Tune in the center.

"By removing one overlay unit from Number 95, it can make an additional attack on a monster," Elsworth announced.

"Interesting," the clown said. "Then I'll use Fortune Tune's ability again, making it invincible."

Once again, the bird protected itself from the dark matter storm that rained down on it. Elsworth frowned, the clown's Number still on the field. "I'll end my turn there, then."

"At least the monster's overlay units are gone," Sharma pointed out.

Claybourne nodded. "We'll see if that makes a difference."

"I draw," the clown announced. He looked at his card, and then his eyes started to glow red. The number 49 glowed on his hand, while another number was on his other hand. Elsworth couldn't make out which one.

Suddenly, the clown started laughing hysterically. "Here it is," he yelled. "I drew it!"

"Drew what?" Elsworth asked, confused.

The clown didn't answer. "Fortune Tune's effect gives me 500 life points at the start of my turn!" The clown managed to get out in between laughs.

Elsworth watched as his opponent climbed to 3500 life points.

"Next, I activate the DNA Transplant trap card!" he called. "Now all monsters on the field become Dark attribute!"

Elsworth was still confused. "What does that accomplish?" he asked.

The clown stopped laughing. "You remember how you asked about my monster? The truth is, it's fairly weak." He chuckled. "However, you should get prepared, because I'm going to use it for a monster that you've never seen before."

Claybourne and Sharma were equally confused. "What does he mean by that?" Sharma asked. Claybourne shook his head.

"I activate this!" the clown announced. "The Phantom Knights Rank-Up Magic Launch spell card!"

Elsworth's eyes widened. "What's a Rank-Up Magic card?'

The clown started laughing again. "Because I control a Dark XYZ monster with no overlay units, I can use it to XYZ summon a more powerful Dark monster," the clown explained in between laughs. "Prepare yourself."

"He's going to rank up his XYZ monster?" Claybourne asked, stunned.

"I rebuild the overlay network with Number 49: Fortune Tune!" the clown shrieked. "Dark XYZ Evolution!"

Fortune Tune became a ball of light, like the monsters used to summon it, and flew into the overlay network. As it exploded, it was a very dark energy that flew out, instead of the normal light show. Elsworth braced himself.

"Reveal yourself, Number 85: Crazy Box!" the clown yelled.

A large, grey box appeared. It had flaps going along each side that opened and closed rapidly, giving momentary glimpses into the inner workings of the machine. A singular red eye was present at the front, along with the number 85 in the bottom-right corner. It had 3000 attack points.

Elsworth was stunned. "That monster is Rank 4," he commented. "He actually ranked up his monster."

"How is that even possible?" Sharma asked.

Claybourne only shook his head. "This clown is like nothing I've ever seen before."

"Are you ready to face the full power of my Crazy Box?" the clown asked. "Prepare to face its special ability!"

"Get ready Elsworth!" Sharma called.

"By using one overlay unit, I get to roll a die," the clown announced. "Ready to test your luck?"

Elsworth narrowed his vision. "Let's do it."

"Here we go!" the clown yelled, as a die appeared in his hand and he threw it into the air.

The die spun around as it flew through the air. It hit the ground rolling, until it slowed right in the center of the field. Both parties held their breath, as they watched the die slowly stop rolling, until it landed on a 6.

"Oh man," Clayboune said. "That can't be good."

"Now witness as my Crazy Box-" the clown never got to finish his sentence. His Number's eye glowed a bright red, seconds before the box completely exploded, leaving a giant dust cloud. When the cloud disappeared, Crazy Box was gone, but Elsworth's Number remained.

"What the…" Claybourne muttered.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Elsworth asked, confused.

"When I roll a 6, Crazy Box self-destructs," the clown admitted. He hung his head. "I end my turn."

"Then it's my turn," Elsworth responded calmly, drawing. "Number 95, attack him directly."

Galaxy-Eyes roared, and a violent dark matter storm came crashing down on the clown. He was submerged in the holographic dark matter, blocking him from view. As the holograms cleared, he was seen lying on the floor, his life points at 0.

"You did it Elsworth!" Sharma cheered.

Claybourne nodded. "Nice work, man."

"Thanks guys," Elsworth responded, turning back towards the clown.

Once again, everything around them was submerged in darkness. A faint green aura was glowing around the unconscious clown. Elsworth held his hand out, and the three Number cards in the clown's possession flew into his outstretched hand. He could see all of them quite clearly: Clarence's Number 72: Shogi Rook; Number 49: Fortune tune; perhaps the strangest of all, Number 85: Crazy Box. He held all three of them in his hand, contemplating his next move.

"I suppose congratulations are in order," a voice spoke up.

"Huh?" Elsworth asked. "Who's there?"

He saw a man, his face obscured by his hood, the traditional bad guy robes covering his body. He stood next to the unconscious clown.

"I'll admit, I didn't expect you to defeat my associate quite like you did," the man explained. He had a slightly British accent. "I'll have to keep that in mind for later."

"Who are you, and how are you able to talk to me in here?" Elsworth asked again.

"My name is of no importance right now, but know that I belong to the same group as this clown here," the man said. "Also, you should know that your ability to do this isn't unique to you."

"Unless you're here to duel, I suggest we stop talking now," Elsworth said.

"Then I shall leave you with this," the man responded. "Stay away from the World Duel Carnival. It's not your fight to win."

With that comment, the world returned to normal. As the pitch black landscape brightened, the cloaked man disappeared, leaving only the unconscious clown. Elsworth turned to see his two friends walking towards him.

"Another well executed duel," Claybourne said, smiling.

"Wow, three Numbers in one duel," Sharma added. "That's incredible."

"Thanks guys," Elsworth responded. He suddenly remembered why they were here. "Sharma, did you manage to get any info on the Numbers' energy?"

Sharma nodded. "I got more than enough to work with when that clown used that Rank-Up Magic spell. We should be good to go."

"Then let's get moving," Elsworth said. The other two nodded, and they made their way back home.

* * *

Once at Sharma's place, he hooked up his sensor to his computer, and ran a couple of programs. Shortly after, a map of the city appeared. Red dots started flashing at various points on the map, indicating the locations of those with Numbers.

"Very well done Sharma," Claybourne noted.

Sharma beamed. "This is possibly my greatest achievement yet."

"You know what this means," Elsworth added. "Now we can hunt Numbers instead of waiting like for people like that clown to get the jump on us."

The other two nodded, and they stared at the screen, planning their first move as full-fledged Number Hunters.

* * *

In a dark room, sat hooded figures around a table. One seat was left empty, however, and the group was here to discuss just that.

"Whose idea was it to let that clown go after him anyways?" one figure spoke up.

"Feel free to take him down yourself next time," a more British sounding voice rang out.

"Fine, maybe I will," the figure said, standing up and walking off.

Someone else turned to the British speaker. "Keep an eye on him," it said.

The British sounding figure nodded. "Understood," he responded, standing up and walking away.


End file.
